Large Student Development set for Little George Street in St Judes
Student housing block kick-starts Frome Gateway Development
The face of Little George Street in St Judes is due to change, with a large new student development planned as part of the Frome Gateway project.
Dandra Living is behind the development. Its proposals could see new student homes, promised community spaces and the opening up of access to the banks of the River Frome.
The developer says: ‘Bristol needs new student homes. The University of Bristol and the University of the West of England educate thousands of students each year and we need to find places for them to live.’
The Little George Street student block will be Dandra Living’s fourth site in Bristol, which includes Stafford Yard and Plot 5 in Bedminster and Clarence Road near Temple Meads Station. They say that because they have a ‘strong business presence’ within Bristol, that it is keen to ‘expand this offer to include student accommodation.’
The development will be in St Judes, which is in Lawrence Hill Ward. It’s the ward which has the worst overcrowding of any other ward in Bristol, classed as ‘significantly high’. The most recent statistics show that 16.6 per cent of households in this ward are overcrowded – a total of 1,270. The Bristol overcrowding average is just 5.1 per cent.
The next closest ward for overcrowding in Bristol is Filwood, which stands at a much lower rate of 8.1 per cent.
Lawrence Hill Ward also includes Barton Hill, with includes elderly housing stock plaguing local residents – most notably Barton House.
Dandra Living’s new student development will tower over St Judes’ current housing, most of which is council or Housing Association properties.

The student development will be on land which is currently used for industrial purposes, although surrounded by high density mid-rise family housing and supported living homes.




The site is located behind Logos House, a Salvation Army supported living building. It is also opposite the Albaseera Bristol Masjid Mosque. The popular Wade St mosque already has a planning application in to expand its building to meet the needs of the local Islamic community.
In 2022, Jason Price, a Crime Prevention Design Advisor (CPDA) with Avon and Somerset Police raised concerns with a proposed student block development on Wade Street. The student block, which seems likely to go ahead, will be based on the land where the former butchers and garage was located – opposite Logos House. Price described crime statistics around 11-17 Wade Street as ‘high’.
At the time Price wrote: ‘I am a Crime Prevention Design Advisor (CPDA) with a responsibility for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) projects within the City of Bristol. As a Constabulary we offer advice and guidance on how the built environment can influence crime and disorder.
‘A previous application at this location has related to student accommodation. It is our view, based on crime trends and input from our local Policing Team that such provision is unsuitable and would be unacceptable and should be subject to condition.’
Current unsubstantiated rumours from housing professionals in Bristol’s housing community regarding the Frome Gateway development, suggests that Logos House is unlikely to remain operating in its current capacity.



Wade Street area of St Judes
Dandra Living says: ‘We will be opening up access to the banks of the River Frome at the north of our site with a new riverside walkway. This supports the Frome Gateway’s vision to create a riverside walkway along the length of the river, making the riverside accessible to all – benefitting local communities and the environment.
‘Our proposals support the Frome Gateway’s aspiration to create a new bridge connection over the River Frome as an extension of Eugene Street.
‘Although Dandara Living doesn’t own all the land needed to build the bridge, our proposals support this planned connection. We will create new outside public space and ground floor spaces for the community where the bridge would land so it can become a new focal point for the community.’




Information sent to local residents
Two community drop-in events will be taking place in St Judes.
Friday 14 June 11am – 2pm at The Jam Jar on Little Ann St
Friday 14 June from 2pm at Albaseera Bristol Masjid on Wade Street
For more information about the development: https://www.littlegeorgestreet.info
For more information about the Frome Gateway development: https://www.fromegateway.co.uk/
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