Vision Statement: “We want to see the site opened up with active uses (e.g. shops,
small businesses, market, cafes, arts, workshops etc.) both on the Stokes Croft
frontage and inside the site. The units will need to be provided in a range of sizes
that are viable for local businesses and be flexible in design in order to adapt to
future changes; they will need to be managed to ensure a good mix at all times.”
We are concerned that:
- All of the retail units face onto Stokes Croft or onto Ashley Road. There are no retail units inside the site.
- A “public courtyard” has a restricted access: it is only accessible through the Carriageworks building from Stokes Croft. There are no units inside the site, so little reason for local people to go into that space.
- There is limited visibility from the street to the courtyard, which gives it the sense of being a private space – and an unsafe space because there will be no easy sight lines from the streets.
- The range of sizes is very limited and no smaller units are provided. This reduces the opportunities for a mix of small businesses, workshops and arts spaces. The size is not conducive to supporting start-up businesses.
- There is no information about how the units will be managed; nor about how their management will relate to the current vitality of the local community, nor how the units will meet local needs.
We believe that the issues relating to active ground floor uses should have been addressed before Fifth Capital submitted their planning application.