Waverley House, Old City, Bristol
Re-imagining an outdated and unattractive car park and residential tall building in Bristol’s Old City
Owned by Unite Students, this brownfield urban site occupies a prominent location within Bristol’s Old City and historic core, fronting Queen Charlotte Street to the west and Welsh Back waterfront to the east. Situated within a conservation area and valued townscape, its sensitivity is heightened by the setting and views of several highly listed buildings, including the distinctive cluster of Old City churches north of Bristol Bridge.
Within this context, the existing large-scale post-war building was identified as underused and visually unattractive at both street level and on the city skyline. Led by local architects Alec French, the project sought to optimise student accommodation while delivering a revitalised use and design that enhances both the immediate and wider townscape.
Heritage, Townscape and Landscape
Our Heritage, Townscape and Landscape team provided detailed analysis of the site’s heritage, townscape and visual context, actively informing the evolution of the design. This included visibility and key view testing to ensure the effects of the redevelopment’s height, form and appearance on nearby heritage assets were rigorously considered and assessed.
The team worked closely with Bristol City Council officers and Historic England to support a constructive pre-application process. Prior to submission, the scheme was also presented to Bristol City Council’s Design West design review panel.
Image credit: Alec French Architects and Troopers Hill
Accordingly, the proposed redevelopment of this site looks to reactivate the local street scene and waterfront and also to create a more attractive and contextually responsive form and silhouette in longer views along the Floating Harbour, from Castle Park and across the Old City, through new high-quality architecture replacing the negative contribution of that existing.
Following confirmation of the scope of receptors and representative views for testing from BCC, our specialist Heritage, Townscape & Landscape team prepared a comprehensive built Heritage, Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment (HTVIA) in support of the scheme at application.
This document described in detail the history and heritage significance and setting of the site, how the design of the proposed development had evolved in response to stakeholder engagement, and also its final impacts / benefits in policy terms.
Further updates to the HTVIA were prepared to support later revisions to the scheme, and in response to ongoing engagement with BCC during the determination period.
Planning permission for these redevelopment proposals were approved by BCC under delegated powers.
Marc Timlin
Director, Head of Heritage, Townscape and Landscape
