'Stop turning shops into housing'

“Dave Williams isn't exactly the most respected trader on North St. Anything for a bit of free publicity! I know that the owner of number 55 North St, tried to get planning permission to convert it into a flat and it was refused!! The 2 empty units that are numbers 66 & 68 have been empty for years because the owner is too tight to lower the rent and would probably rather have them empty as its a tax loss! I also believe that the owner of the 60 North St (which is used for storage) also tried for planning permission to convert it into flats, several years ago and was also refused.

I know this because I am a local resident and have been for over 35 years.”

“The posh bit in southville? north street has never been in southville, ashton gate one end,ashton in the middle,bedminster the other end . I know it all sounds nice and trendy to call it southville but its not so please get it right southville starts the other side of upton road always has always will.”

“West Street has not been a viable shopping street since the 1960s and was massively run down by the 1970s with only a few premises clinging over the years. These are mainly ones of little retail appeal unless you are looking for a fridge, a new car, a set of dentures or a funeral.
The alternative to building homes was to have a seriously derelict area left as it was.

North Street is a different matter although the problems are not caused by premises being turned into housing but rather the excessive rents and business rates being charged. The section of North St from Cannon Street to Luckwell Road has suffered badly since the 1980s and this has exacerbated the situation. In fact, it has not been a full retail high street since the mid 1990s as there were a number of vacant and derelict properties back then along with a number of the office premises that are still in evidence. Most of the housing that has been built has been on former car sales lots between Sion Rd and South Street. The last time shops stood there was pre-1941 when the area had a visit from the Luftwaffe urban redesign company.

In the main, the kinds of businesses on lower North St don't have the appeal to attract people to shop there (boiler installers, plumbers, junk shops, office premises, estate agents, employment agencies) so lack of trade plus high rents/rates is not going to encourage businesses to open and I can't see the residents of Bedminster and Southville flocking to George Carr to get a BOGOF on cement mixers anytime soon.

Both my wife and her friend ran shops on North Street and both had to close down because of significant year on year increases in rent/rates, particularly for those renting council owned properties. In 2004 some shop owners saw their rent increase between 50 and 75%.

Also, there is a lot of over-burdening on North St with multiple premises selling the same kind of product/services. There are multiple shops selling coffee and/or sandwiches in the area and a number of them never seem to be that busy, one has apparently already closed in the past few months. There are numerous ladies hairdressers springing up along with beauty treatment rooms. Again, whenever I walk past they never seem to be particularly busy and several seem to have taken to closing for a couple of days a week now. Because of this, businesses last a couple of years, close then premises stand empty.

The illuminated signs thing is a good point. They are not allowed in the conservation area yet urban art is with one business being allowed to turn the whole area into what is effectively a giant advert for their shop. This is apparently in direct contravention to council policy on allowing urban art in conservation areas and has in some places had a detrimental effect on the area (for example the hoardings/art at the Gala bingo hall which are now a mess and a number of the other art pieces which sadly idiots seem to think are somehow enhanced by the addition of their tags now just look a mess and in turn do nothing to enhance the area) yet the council seem to support this and turn a blind eye.

I would agree that like East Street, the lower end of North Street needs a lot of work and housing is not necessarily the way to go. Lowering rents and encouraging a range of shops, not just more cafes and hairdressers would be a better idea.”

“That's a good point ScarletMsC. In a year or two when the economy has picked up, businesses will start getting set up again. But it will be harder due to less retail units being available. It's all well and good wanting to cash in now, but long term it is a very bad thing. Once a shop is converted to a flat it will never be converted back again.

Logic3 - for now, yes. But this is temporary. I don't think high streets will be permanently reduced in scale. We have had the worst financial crisis for decades and I believe that the retail industry will be back on its feet in a couple of years and high streets will blossom again.”

“I'd love to rent one of those empty shops but can't afford to start a business in this climate (no one would lend me money either i'm sure!). Such a shame to see that first part of North Street looking so tatty.”

“The current zoning allocation for high street shops needs to be refreshed. As it stands, there are simply too many retail premises and demand is being swamped by supply. The hard truth is the high street needs to go through a correction in terms of size and scale, and converting building use is a part of that.

If you take North Street for example, the 'good bit' with all the pleasant cafe's, bistros, theatres and butcher/baker shops is only really 1/3 of the street. Anything beyond the roundabout near the Hen & Chicken is desolate. The planning authorities need to consolidate the scale of our high streets by keeping the continuity of shops where they are desired, and selectively converting use for the chaff.

It's a case of quality over charity shop and auto-dealer quantity.”

“So...

On one hand there is never enough affordable housing in Bristol.

Or;

Local business's are suffering due to a lack of customer support.

Surely more people moving into an area equals more potential customers for any given local business?”