The property is situated on Cotham Hill, circa 0.7 mile northwest of Bristol city centre and circa 0.9 mile northeast of Clifton Village, within a short 8 or 9 minute walk of the University of Bristol’s Clifton campus.
The site benefits from excellent transport links, with bus routes within 1 minutes’ walk and Bristol Temple Meads station located 1.7 miles to the south and easily accessible via nearby local stations such as Clifton Down, Redland, and Montpelier, which offer regular services on the Severn Beach Line.
The site is a former convent and care home which was operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order founded by Jeanne Jugan which operates care homes around the UK and Ireland.
The building dates from 1860 and had become unsuited to modern care use. Changes in fire regulations specific to care environments made it unviable to continue in this aging building. Care services and residents have been relocated to other homes that the Little Sisters of the Poor operate and the building was sold in 2025.
There is an acute shortage of student accommodation in Bristol, particularly around the University of Bristol’s Clifton campus. A shortfall in purpose-built student accommodation in the city means that many students live in flats and houses that might normally be occupied by families or young professionals starting out in their careers, which in turn places pressure on housing options and affordability in the city.
With the care functions at St Joseph’s winding down, an opportunity now exists to sensitively repurpose the historic building, providing much-needed student accommodation a short walk from the University of Bristol’s main campus and on key bus routes serving the city centre, the University of the West of England, and Temple Meads railway station and Temple Quarter Campus.
The site itself is well suited to this use, as it requires only low impact internal reconfiguration of the building, preserving the building for future use in a sustainable manner. Other uses would require much more comprehensive and impactful redevelopment. It is a well-contained site, with high boundary walls and boundary planting, with attractive landscaped ground providing a pleasant environment for future student residents.
The proposal does not involve significant external alterations to the existing building apart from potential fenestration upgrades to enhance the energy efficiency of the building, and instead involves internal refurbishment and reconfiguration, as well as some rearrangement of the grounds to provide appropriate staff and disabled parking, refuse storage, cycle parking and a communal garden.
The proposed change of use application and reconfiguration would provide:
- Up to 131 dedicated student studios (123 within the main building and a further 8 in the former laundry).
- At least 7 of the studios will be accessible in line with part M of Building Regulations. It is currently proposed that 5 of these would be at ground floor level, with a further 2 adjacent to the lift on upper floors.
- Communal facilities for recreation and socialising, including a gym, cinema room, study spaces, meeting rooms and a resident laundry.
- A landscaped communal garden for students to relax, meet and socialise.
- A car-free development reflecting the site’s highly sustainable location, with limited parking for staff and disabled students only.
- A travel plan to promote sustainable modes of transport, and the potential for contractual restrictions preventing students from keeping a car in Bristol.
- A low carbon opportunity to provide much-needed student accommodation, with no new building required and improvements to fenestration and upgrades to building performance delivering an enhancement to the building’s sustainability in use.
The site occupies a highly sustainable location for the provision of student accommodation, with the main University of Bristol campus located a short 9-minute walk away. Bus routes on Cotham Hill provide access to both the University of West of England campus and to Temple Meads for rail connections and the new Temple Quarter Campus. In addition to bus links, Temple Meads is also easily accessible via nearby local stations such as Clifton Down, Redland and Montpelier.
Given the site’s sustainable location, the development is proposed to be largely car free, with limited parking provided only for staff and disabled students, accessed via the main gate from Cotham Hill. Dedicated cycle storage is proposed as part of the proposals, providing space for 34 bicycles. A travel plan will form part of the planning application, promoting sustainable modes of transport. It is also expected that once operational, contractual restrictions can be placed on occupants preventing them from keeping a car in Bristol.
Given the site’s sustainable location, the development is proposed to be largely car free, with limited parking provided only for staff and disabled students, accessed via the main gate from Cotham Hill. It is also expected that once operational, contractual restrictions can be placed on occupants preventing them from keeping a car in Bristol.
The site’s sustainable location provides extensive opportunities for active travel, and to reflect this secure bicycle storage is proposed from 34 bicycles. However, with the University of Bristol and University Hospitals located within a ten-minute walk, it is envisaged that most journeys would be undertaken on foot. Given the sustainable location, the development will be car free except for limited parking for staff and disabled students.
The opportunity to reuse an existing building rather than a new-build to provide much-needed student accommodation, with adaptations to external fenestration to improve efficiency, will result in a low embodied carbon development. In addition, upgrades to the building performance will benefit its sustainability in use and the longevity of the building overall.
The development will therefore be far less impactful than a new build development, with a significantly lower carbon footprint.