A special school in Bristol earmarked for luxury flats could be saved as the local community has won the chance to buy the site. Developers were refused permission last summer to knock down the historic Steiner school in Westbury Park and build 116 apartments for the elderly.
Bristol City Council has declared St Christopher’s School is an “asset of community value”, a major step forward for campaigners fighting to save the building. The school shut down in 2020 but the city has too few places for pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND).
The designation means the council has officially recognised the school’s contribution to the social wellbeing of the city. The local community now has a chance to bid for and buy the site, if it comes onto the market.
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Julie Owen, whose daughter went to the school, said: “It’s brilliant news. St Christopher's School was a very special place and helped so many families like ours over so many years. It's really important for us that Bristol City Council has acknowledged the unique education it provided — especially for children with severe autism.
“I really hope this means the community will be able to buy the site and do something amazing there in the future, because there's so much need among SEND families in Bristol.”
Ms Owen campaigned with other parents, former school staff, councillors, Bristol North West MP Darren Jones, and Aardman Animations legend Peter Lord, who lives nearby. She said the school could reopen and be used to teach the growing number of pupils with SEND.
The two-hectare site is owned by FORE real estate investors, whose plans for a retirement village were refused permission by the council in August last year. This was due to too many buildings being squeezed into the area, causing issues with a lack of daylight, as well as damage to trees and local wildlife.
It’s unclear whether the developers will try applying for planning permission with a different scheme, and no application appears to have been received by the council yet. Any future plans would have to take into account the new asset of community value status put on the school.
A spokesperson for the SEND Alliance for St Christopher’s, the group who put together the bid, said: “We are over the moon that the legacy of St Christopher’s school has been officially recognised. ACV status means that we now have a real chance to ensure this wonderful site returns to being a community asset so it can serve SEND families again in the future. A big thank you to everyone at Bristol City Council.”
The school has been left empty for four years, despite the dire shortage of places for SEND pupils in Bristol and rising demand. Campaigners have said several SEND charities and groups have recently contacted them, “desperate” to use the empty school.
