South Gloucestershire Council and its affordable housing development partner, LiveWest, will host a public engagement event to present final designs for the redeveloped Watermore Infant School site at the Brockeridge Centre, Frampton Cotterell on Monday 2 February between 4pm and 6pm.
On 7 April 2025, LiveWest hosted a public consultation event to gather feedback on the proposed development. This followed the withdrawal of a demolition notice for the site to allow time for wider community engagement with residents who raised concerns about the proposed loss of the Victorian school building.
The consultation generated a large number of responses from local residents. Whilst the council and LiveWest acknowledge the sensitivities surrounding the site, these must be balanced with both parties’ commitment to deliver a viable, sustainable development that includes affordable housing and generates sufficient income for the council to fulfil its commitment to complete the funding of the new Watermore Primary School which opened in 2020.
Since the consultation closed, LiveWest has worked closely with its project consultants to review all feedback and refine the proposals to provide a careful balance between honouring the past and meeting the future needs of the community.
The new proposal is for a thoughtfully designed redevelopment that replaces the existing school building but celebrates and preserves the site’s historic character. A key feature is the reinstatement of the original school building façade – a much-loved local landmark – onto a new, sympathetically designed, apartment block that is set back slightly from the street to maintain the area’s traditional appearance and scale.
Importantly, the design will carefully recover and reuse the original pennant stonework, ensuring that the heritage and visual identity of the former school are retained and reimagined as part of a modern, sustainable development.
Councillor Adam Monk, cabinet member for resources at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “South Gloucestershire Council has been working with LiveWest to ensure the new proposal celebrates the original buildings character. We hope that residents who are interested in the future of the site will be able to attend the engagement event to learn more about the latest proposals and engage with the final design.”
