PLANS to demolish a historic Staple Hill factory and build more than 50 homes on the site can go ahead.
South Gloucestershire Council’s development management committee has approved plans by Woodstock Homes to build 44 two-bedroom flats and 12 one-bedroom flats on the former Bristol Uniforms site in Wathen Street, behind Fountain Square and Broad Street.
All 56 homes will be classed as affordable, for social rent or shared ownership, and the developer is working with housing association Bromford on the project.
Woodstock Homes says demolition work will start early next year, with building work following in the spring.
The factory’s two-storey gatehouse building will be kept as a reminder of its historical heritage, and refurbished to provide studio office space.
Behind it, flats will be built in three-storey blocks, along with a communal garden, on the site between Victoria Street and Beaufort Road.
The final plans were for ten fewer homes than initially proposed, with smaller buildings.
A Woodstock Homes spokesperson said: “Following consultation with South Gloucestershire Council we were advised to reduce the buildings from four storeys to three storeys in height, lessening the impact on surrounding neighbours and ensuring the retained Gatehouse building remained prominent.”
Bristol Uniforms’ predecessor, clothing manufacturer Wathen Gardiner & Co, moved onto the site at the turn of the 20th century. Many of the current buildings date back to 1917, when the factory was rebuilt following a huge fire.
The company, now known as MSA Bristol Fire Safety Clothing, moved to a new site in Yate early in 2023.
It made uniforms for the Armed Forces during both world wars before specialising in fire safety and protective clothing.
The developers said refurbishing the factory was too expensive and access too tight for modern requirements.
At the planning meeting on October 30, agent Kit Stokes said: “The scheme has worked hard to retain stone walls and the original gatehouse.
“The site is on brownfield land in a very accessible location.
“This prevents building on greenfield land and in villages elsewhere. It’s a really interesting scheme that will be a real positive for the area.”
Councillors were told that the building is locally listed and architecturally significant, with red bricks, a sawtooth roof and circular windows.
It had been included as employment land on the council’s draft Local Plan, which is now with the government for examination.
Neighbours objected to the plans.
Lisa Keegans-Wood, who lives behind the factory, said: “We’re not opposed to this area being developed, but we still have lots of our questions unanswered.
“Loss of privacy is one of our major concerns. There will potentially be balconies overlooking our garden.
“There’s a real lack of parking provision locally.”
Council officers said bus links for the site are good.
Committee member Councillor June Bamford (Con, Hanham) said: “We do have it designated as employment land.
“I do understand that things have moved on since the end of the 19th century. We’ve got much larger lorries and vehicles that would need to go in.
“But it’s annoying when we’re losing employment land. We want people to work nearer to where they live.”
Meeting report by Alex Seabrook,
Local Democracy Reporting Service