Bristol’s First Major Co-living Tower Block to Remove Communal Areas
Developers in Bristol plan to eliminate communal spaces to add more rooms in a new co-living tower, raising concerns among locals.
Bristol, UK, Co-living, Housing, Development
Bristol: Developers are shaking things up with a new co-living tower in the city center. They want to ditch communal kitchens and dining areas to squeeze in more rooms. Sounds a bit cramped, right?
They’re also looking to remove balconies from the 18-story building. The council will review these changes next week, and it seems they might get the green light again.
Construction is already underway, with the old Beefeater restaurant being torn down. Last year, they got the go-ahead for this project, which will also see the Premier Inn tower come down soon.
This new co-living concept is pretty fresh for Bristol. It’s like student housing but for everyone. Each person gets their own en-suite room with a little kitchenette, sharing a floor with others.
There will be some shared spaces, like a gym and a roof garden. Initially, the plan included shared kitchens and social areas on each floor, but now they’re changing that.
Instead of kitchens on every floor, they’ll have two larger shared areas on the top floors. One of those will be for private use, which residents can rent out. It’s a bit like what they have at Castle Park View.
The old Beefeater is set to be gone by October 2024, making way for two new towers. A spokesperson mentioned that the changes were made due to new fire regulations, allowing for more rooms—up from 132 to 150. Four of those will be affordable housing.
They’re also planning to transform a big chunk of the site into public space, which sounds nice. But not everyone is on board with these changes. Some folks think it’s just a way to cram more people in without addressing the housing crisis.
Others worry that losing kitchens on every floor will make life tougher for residents. They’ll have to trek up and down just to cook. Plus, the loss of balconies is a bummer, especially if the roof terrace doesn’t get bigger.
Next Wednesday, the planning committee will meet to decide on these amendments. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out!