Mixed-use proposals are tweaked after criticism from former RIBA president George Ferguson

AHR has submitted plans for a 245-home mixed use scheme in Bristol’s harbourside Wapping Wharf district.

Developer Umberslade said the proposals responded to pre-application feedback by removing a two-storey rooftop restaurant from a 12-storey block, and reducing the height of another building by one floor.

Former RIBA president and past elected mayor of Bristol George Ferguson was among the critics of the earlier proposals. He said the proposed tall buildings, of which the 12-storey block was to be the highest, would “smother” views of the listed dockside cranes in front of the development.

Umberslade’s application for the Wapping Wharf North development includes a full application for phase one, which covers three blocks to the west of the scheme and half of the homes, and an outline application for the rest of the project to be built out in phase two.

Alec French Architects designed earlier phases of the Wapping Wharf development for Umberslade and Muse. The latest site earmarked for redevelopment is currently home to a meanwhile venue called Cargo that features independent eateries and shops.

CGI CARGO Hall entrance oblique

The Cargo building at ground floor

AHR’s proposals would deliver a permanent home for Cargo with small independent businesses selling groceries and produce in a continental-style covered market called Cargo Hall, surrounded with takeaways and casual dining businesses with outdoor seating.

Under the just-submitted plans, the building’s upper floors would have dine-in restaurants with cascading green outdoor terraces offering views across the harbour with a viewing platform and shipping container restaurant on the sixth floor.

CGI CARGO restaurant terraces from above

The Cargo restaurant terraces at AHR’s Wapping Wharf North scheme

The wider Wapping Wharf North plans will also deliver 5,000sq m of flexible workspace on the ground and first-floor levels of the other new buildings.

Stuart Hatton, managing director of Umberslade, said: “We want to build on the harbourside’s reputation as a leisure destination by creating something fresh and exciting that will draw people to the area, with more green public spaces for them to enjoy when they get here.”

CGI Wapping Wharf North with cranes in foreground

The scheme would sit behind the listed dockside cranes and the existing M-Shed Museum