Members of the council’s Development Control B committee approved the application to redevelop Bristol’s Galleries Shopping Centre unanimously at a meeting on 29 January.

Detailed plans will now be developed and submitted to the council committee for approval and meanwhile The Galleries remains open for business.

Deeley Freed, the development partner for LaSalle Investment Management, submitted the outline planning application for the redevelopment of the Galleries back in May.

The redevelopment will see up to 450 new homes; 1.5 acres of public open space; a new 250-room hotel; enough office space for 3,450 workers; 7,000 square metres of ground floor shops, cafes, bars and restaurants; up to 750 purpose built student bedrooms; a new community building; and a large below ground nighttime venue to support grass roots music in the city centre.

Ahead of the meeting, a spokesperson from Bristol-based Deeley Freed said: “This is a once in lifetime opportunity to re-imagine the obsolete shopping centre. Our redevelopment would reinvigorate and green the city centre and help Castle Park become the safe, attractive heart of the city it should be.

“The existing issues at the Galleries cannot be resolved without redevelopment. There’s a massive over-supply of retail space. It’s an extremely poor and inefficient use of this key city centre location with an enormous building that blocks the city centre from Castle Park.

“Regeneration will only succeed if more people are brought into the city centre to live and work. Our scheme would bring more than 5,000 people to live and work in Broadmead. There will still be many shops, cafes, bars and restaurants on the ground floor, but with much greater appeal – complementing but not competing with the rest of Broadmead.

“The scheme would also boost the nighttime economy, by creating a place people want to visit after dark, and with a new nighttime venue to support grass roots music in the city centre.

“Currently there is no public open space at the Galleries. Our proposal would open up one third of the site for high-quality, welcoming & inclusive space. Newgate – the road that runs between the Galleries and Castle Park – will be pedestrianised, with green landscaping and tree planting along the front of our scheme.

“The proposed development would transform the relationship with Castle Park. Pedestrianising Newgate will transform how safe, welcoming and attractive this side of Castle Park will be. Having 5,000 new people living and working in the development will totally change the way Castle Park is experienced. With activity in and around the site through the day and evening, it will make Castle Park a safer space and discourage anti-social behaviour.

“Sustainable transport also sits at the heart of our approach. Currently 40 per cent of the site is car parking. We would help deliver the council’s city centre aspirations to reduce vehicle usage. Fairfax Street – which runs under The Galleries – would become the main traffic route when the council closes The Horsefair and Penn Street to vehicles. We’re proposing a new ‘hub’ in the centre of the scheme, accessible via Fairfax Street, where blue badge-only parking, cycle storage and changing facilities will be located.

“It’s also a highly sustainable redevelopment. We have proposed a new energy centre within our scheme, which will be a hub for the Bristol Heat Network. This will provide heating and cooling for the development with additional capacity for neighbouring properties.

“Given the housing need – and the sheer cost of redeveloping such a complex site – it is vital that densities are optimised. The proposed heights are mainly 8-10 storeys, stepping up to 14, then one 21 storey building.

“In designing the scheme we’ve also taken a great deal of care to protect and celebrate the two heritage assets within the Galleries: The Merchant Almshouses and the Greyhound Hotel. Currently both are subsumed by the Galleries, but we propose to retain, open up and celebrate both buildings.

“The development would bring substantial economic benefits with new income for the council including £6.7 million extra business rates a year, £0.9 million new annual council tax, £5.7 million in Community Infrastructure Levy and £1.5 million for New Homes Bonus.

“In total the scheme would bring £139 million a year economic benefits, including £10 million additional annual spending by new residents.

“This is an extremely complex and difficult regeneration project to achieve. But the time has now come to transform what is probably the most important site in the city centre.”