Radical plan for Bristol shopping centre
A Bristol shopping precinct could be transformed with a glass canopy, according to campaigner Terry Dando.
He admits the proposals for Staple Hill are radical and would cost millions of pounds but insists the community should aim high.
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Terry Dando wants a roof over Staple Hill shopping centre
Mr Dando, a trustee of the Staple Hill Regeneration Partnership, has been in touch with managers of covered shopping areas in Yate and Thornbury to research his idea.
He was the driving force behind a bid for lottery cash earlier this year that narrowly missed out on landing £440,000 to redevelop the Square.
He believes covering the shops would boost trade because people would be more inclined to go shopping in all weather conditions.
Mr Dando said: "In Yate and Thornbury there are sections of the shopping centres which are enclosed and they allow people to move around more even when it is raining. Traders and customers are given more freedom.
"I want to do this in Staple Hill because it's outdated in its image. Something needs to be done or else it will decline. I'm even looking at the idea of getting a town square clock.
"If we could bring the shops under cover, it would create a long-lasting impact and give the area a lift.
"I would like to see canopies on both sides of the road on Broad Street and the High Street for as far along the roads as we could afford to take them.
"We could have people sitting out in the Square and it could be turned into Little Italy. We could have bands and youth events under the cover."
Mr Dando plans to take his idea to the regeneration partnership for discussion, and to bid for money from South Gloucestershire Council, the lottery and European funding sources.
He added: "We need to find a way of bypassing what we have at the moment. Apart from Saturdays, the shops are pretty dormant. Some are saying 'this is way out of our league' but we are saying "let's look at this as a possibility'.
"We need to be thinking 'if we had limitless money, what would be do?' then we need to go backwards from there."
The bid for the Big Lottery Fund Changing Spaces grant to revamp Staple Hill's shopping square, which is home to Iceland and the site of the former library lost out to schemes in Exeter and Torbay.
3 Comments
by GTZ..., brizzol
Thursday, July 23 2009, 9:13PM
“i like the fact that he thinks staple hill square could be a 'little italy'
yup, like those heady nights in rome, watching kids off their heads on white lightning hurling abuse at each other or the bustling streets of milan where people barf everywhere and beat each other up...”
by anil, south glos
Thursday, July 23 2009, 11:52AM
“Well said John. I think this is similar to Conservative mentality that said "never mind the poor, just let the commercial sector rule everything"
The sad truth seems to be that redeveloping some shops is not going to have any impact on those who are struggling with poverty, bad health or other inequalities. It maybe an idea to demolish those shops altogether and replace them with an open space and some affordable housing. Maybe - and I know this is radical - something young people could get involved with that will be interesting and socially useful, like social/arts/community and sporting facilities.”
by John, Bedminster
Thursday, July 23 2009, 8:20AM
“We live in a city where schools can't provide books for children, people can't even get basic medical care because of hospital budgets adn there are families living in abject poverty (or even on the streets) and someone is proud to be vaunting a project to spend "millions of pounds" on a roof to make shopping more comfortable.
Does no-one have any sense of priority or just common sense and more?”