The site, which was acquired by Sovereign in May 2020, is located between Paintworks to the West, the River Avon to the north, existing terraced housing to the south, and St Philips Causeway to the East. It is currently occupied by car retail and repairs businesses.
Download the aerial view of Castle Court site 
Site analysis
Site opportunities plan
Download the site opportunities plan
1. Landscaped led scheme:
Bringing the river bank landscaping into the development.
2. A place for a community:
It will be important to create a series of garden squares along a route that connects the Paintwork steps to the west, to St Philip’s Causeway to the east. These create opportunities for locating community centres and cafes. Each could contribute to a variety of characters within the development.
3. Garden Walk:
The existing west boundary footpath could create a new positive pedestrian route by becoming a new linking element with Paintworks. There is an opportunity to create a green garden walk that is embraced and positively overlooked (and passively policed) by nearby residents. This route allows for the creation of a new edge, and could link the foot bridge with a new pocket park to the south.
4. Urban grain and height:
The development should embrace the existing Victorian grain to the south by knitting directly into the streetscape in terms of permeability and scale. This will create a neat, tidy and thoughtful relationship between new and existing. Overall, height increases from lower in the south west to higher in the north east. This relates to the surrounding scale as well as sunlight and daylight. All dwellings should be oriented to maximise sunlight and well-being and this generally orients the building grain in a north-south arrangement.
5. Community Gardens:
Historically there were nurseries located adjacent to the site and we think there is an opportunity to reflect these within the scheme, with community growing spaces.
Site challenges plan
Download the site challenges plan
1. Limited vehicular access:
Vehicular access is not available at this point. Due to the close proximately of the junction from St Philips Causeway, vehicular access into the site is limited to this location.
2. Hostile environment:
St Phillips Causeway is a major road and therefore is a source of noise and pollution. This can be mitigated by the careful positioning and design of buildings to create a positive edge for the scheme.
3. Edward Road & Chatsworth Road:
We anticipate that the residents of these roads do not want vehicular access into the site.