A leaflet might soon be coming through your door telling you about development proposals for the Carriageworks and Westmorland House.

The leaflet may raise many questions in the minds of you and your neighbours, not least about who this new developer is and what has happened to the Knightstone scheme and the Community Vision.  Here are some answers:

Who is this new developer Fifth Capital?

Fifth Capital emerged in November 2013 just as the City Council appointed Knightstone as its preferred developer. They are a private London based company setup in 2011. Their 2013 accounts show net assets of £5,983.  Read more…

Have Fifth Capital built anything before?

We’ve been asking them this.  They haven’t sent us any evidence that they have built anything.  Read more…

Do they own the site?

No, the site is still owned by Comer Homes. But Fifth Capital tell us they have “a controlling interest”.  Read more…

Who’s behind Fifth Capital?

There is an impressive team of architects and consultants working with Fifth Capital. They claim to have already spent £400,000 on their fees. So who’s paying?  Read more…

What do they intend to build?

We understand that their current scheme shows that they will demolish Westmoreland House, build 116 mostly private flats and include some retail along Stokes Croft. Read more….

How do the proposals compare to the Community Vision?

From what we understand, some aspects are broadly in line with the Vision. But; there is no through route, there is little affordable housing, long term management arrangements are very vague and we don’t even know if Fifth Capital can or will actually develop the site themselves. Read more…

Have they submitted a planning application?

No, not yet. They are currently in a community involvement stage. They plan to submit a planning application in September / October 2014.

What’s happened to the Knightstone scheme?

Knightstone still want to develop the site and are supported by CAG.  Knightstone are working with Bristol City Council which could ultimately compulsorily purchase the site from the current owners. However, if Fifth Capital get planning permission it could make it much harder to get the compulsory purchase approved, and that would stop Knightstone going ahead.

Is CAG working with Fifth Capital?

No, because they haven’t demonstrated to us that they will deliver the Community Vision.

What happens next?

Fifth Capital’s PR agency, Four Communications, has told us that they are having an exhibition of the proposals in two weeks time. They will then finish working up their proposals and submit a planning application in September / October. They anticipate a planning decision in January 2015.

What is CAG doing?

We still want to see a scheme that embraces all aspects of the Community Vision. At this stage we really don’t know if Fifth Capital will build anything, or if they will sell the site with planning permission to someone else, or if they will dissolve into thin air once the site value has been increased. Fifth Capital say they will build the scheme themselves but so far they have not provided any evidence to show that they or their Directors have ever done anything like it before. We will keep trying to get answers to these questions. In the meantime we continue to liaise with Knightstone and the City Council with a view to the Knightstone scheme progressing.