Southmead Celebrates New Funding For Community Hub

At this week’s cabinet meeting Bristol City Council approved £7.6 million of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to develop the ground floor space within the Glencoyne Square Community Led Housing scheme.  

Lifelong Southmead resident Deana gave a passionate statement about how much Arnside and its improvement meant to her, getting a round of applause from the room. “A community’s assets aren’t just the buildings. The best asset is the residents themselves” made a particular impact on us! 

Cabinet member for Housing Delivery and Homes Tom Renhard thanked the team and residents for their “unrelenting commitment, tenacity and patience” and councillors were supportive of the hard work which volunteers and the project team have put in. 

The ground floor area will be an ambitious community-run space within the development. It will be home to a health and wellbeing hub, community enterprise space, and an enhanced Bristol City Council library which will share the space with an employment, training and advice hub. It will be managed by Southmead Development Trust which already manages busy community spaces in Southmead – the Greenway Centre and The Ranch (Southmead Adventure Playground).  

Occupying the space underneath the new 187 flats, the development will create a pedestrianised extension to the current shopping area of Arnside Road. Bristol City Council completed public realm improvements in 2022 including Sustainable Drainage Systems to help control flooding, and new seating, parking, and pavements. Additional public realm works including, planting 30 new trees, along with accessible pathways and green space, will be completed as part of the work on the ground floor hub.  

Arnside Road is already a thriving retail area, but the hub will add vital community space to support the extra footfall which the new homes will bring. This will also support the community projects and services in the area and create and continue strong partnerships with other organisations.  

This is an exciting next step in the story of Glencoyne Square Community Led Housing scheme. We’re delighted to move forward with such an important part of the project and see our much-loved Arnside continue to be reinvigorated.   

To find out more about the Glencoyne Square Community Led Housing project click HERE, email info@southmead.org, or leave a message for the team on 0117 950 3335.  

To watch this part of the cabinet meeting click HERE and go to 1:34:27.