Quakers Friars is set to become Bristol’s central visitor destination—reviving a centuries-old site into a vibrant, inclusive cultural hub. Its layered story—from 13th-century friary to civic commons to modern high street—embodies Bristol’s spirit of resilience and reinvention. With planning approval granted in July 2025 and landscape delivery expected by April 2026, the project is now set for realisation.

Led by MOOWD, the masterplan brings a regenerative, design-led strategy that repositions Quakers Friars as a civic and cultural anchor for a new era. In response to declining footfall, vacant units, and shifting lifestyles, the vision reimagines the precinct as a human-scale, heritage-rich quarter alive with performance, creativity, independent retail, and social infrastructure. At its heart is a reactivated public realm—a new ‘village green’ that connects to Castle Park, invites daily use, and fosters long-term community value.

By restoring historic buildings, embedding nature-based systems, and curating a diverse programme of uses, Quakers Friars offers more than renewal—it offers a new blueprint. A place where heritage meets innovation, and where Bristol’s evolving identity is celebrated through design, culture, and collective experience. This is not simply a regeneration project, but a bold model for how cities can weave the stories of their past into a destination for the future—one defined not by retail, but by cultural life, civic value, and everyday belonging.