‘I won’t miss the Galleries’ as massive demolition plans come to Bristol city centre

Bristol Live readers have had their say on proposals to demolish Bristol’s Galleries Shopping Center and replace it with a new area in the city center in our comments section. Some are hopeful about the potential benefits of redevelopment, while others express concern about its impact on housing and the wider urban landscape.

Developers have submitted a master planning application to demolish the 34-year-old shopping center and its multi-storey car park and in its place create 450 new homes, shops, leisure, restaurants, health and community, a new hotel. and accommodation for 750 students.

Reader Phil McAvity commented: “Creating new student housing frees up properties that could be houses but have been converted to student houses so they could ease the housing problem.”

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Commenter Belfastlivemod said: “Amazing ideas so innovative. Once again, business drives progress.” Odin’s Pig said: “Over 1,200 new residents in Broadmead help keep the shops running, so it’s a long-term win. I hope we get new pubs and bars with it as the area needs them.”

Downtowngirl wrote: “The city center is where the Hippodrome is and the Galleries/Broadmead is the shopping centre, Bristol has two centres, a city and a shopping centre. Like the idea of ​​using the space for expanding medical facilities, easier to access and needed with the population explosion due to the proposed high-rises, and more useful instead of more student digs and high-rise apartments.”

Othermeinnit thought about the use of the center: “In the ambulatory of the Eye Hospital in the old Post Office he has the right idea, to turn the whole place into a medical “shopping” center.All types of outpatient services, NHS and private, diagnostics, chemotherapy, physiotherapy etc, together with dentists, pharmacies, opticians, alternative therapies. All with cafes, bookshops, play areas and things to keep you busy while you inevitably wait. And it has parking.”

Malagogogirl said: “I won’t miss the galleries. It was always a bit meh. Good to join Broadmead and Castle Green.”

Macblank said: “It looks like a boring office. It doesn’t seem that different from Temple Way. There’s still no decent coverage for coffee shops because we’re still expected to drink our coffee in the Brizzle drizzle.”

Katiem commented: “The center has been dead for a while. Nothing there but Waterstones and Cotswold. This will speed it up. The new build will only be for those who live there and not for wider Bristol. Also more student accommodation. Bristol will soon exist only for the University”.

RichBris asked: “If they are supposed to upgrade the ‘new town centre’, why do the tall buildings look like cheap hotels, similar to what you would see on the seafront in Benidorm?” Spencerward replied, “Exactly, all these architects can dream up are rectangles for today’s brainwashed people to live in. Look at the early 1800’s Tartar architecture that we can’t even think of building these days, such a shame we haven’t moved. with the times.”

CliftonCowboy said: “Demolished after only 34 years. Brilliant”.

While Pogue Mahone said: “I see we have the usual ‘student bashing’ comments here. We should be delighted that students choose our city to study and bring much-welcomed income. Like everyone else, they need a place to live, but don’t blame students for the lack of accommodation for others – blame the council, developers and unscrupulous landlords.”

So what would you like to do with The Galleries Shopping Centre? Let us know in the comments below or HERE.