'Britain's saddest shopping centre' sees abandoned shops turned into £190k flats

The first flats on the former site of what was once dubbed "Britain's saddest shopping centre" have hit the market. Fourteen apartments in converted empty shops within the old St Catherine's Place shopping centre between East Street and Dalby Avenue in Bedminster are now up for grabs. According to a listing on Rightmove, prices for these new homes at Catherine's Yard start at £190,000 for a one-bedroom property.

Ocean estate agents, who listed the property, describe the apartments as featuring open-plan layouts flooded with natural light, complemented by "generously sized bedrooms enhanced by exceptional ceiling heights". An Ocean spokesperson said they will be ready for occupation come autumn this year. Firmstone, the developers, also hold planning permission to build a total of 180 new flats in separate buildings on land surrounding the former shopping centre, where the last shop shut its doors in June 2023.

However, there appears to be no progress on the construction of that development as the plans are believed to be on hold.

Photographs taken by BristolLive on August 1 revealed that substantial work was still underway at Catherine's Yard.

It is believed that the bulk of construction on the initial 14 flats has now been finished, with additional flats planned for the former western side of the shopping centre to be constructed at a later date.

Since the centre's closure, it has largely remained vacant except for the Bedminster Library of Things, which has been operated by Share Bristol since 2024.

Developers have also recently proposed plans to convert the building formerly occupied by The Assembly, one of South Bristol's largest pubs, into a shared house accommodating up to 16 people.

Catherine's Yard is a part of the Bedminster Green redevelopment project, which includes five major proposed developments around Dalby Avenue and Malago Road, south of East Street.

In December 2024, Bristol City Council (BCC) ended an agreement with developer Dandara to develop some of the land set aside for the project.

Council leader Tony Dyer stated that BCC were going to "explore alternative delivery options for the land" following an outcry from residents over the potential loss of green space.

Once the project is finished, it could contribute more than 2,000 new homes to Bedminster.