Does Broadmead need to be bigger and brighter? From the visual evidence I would say the main problem is there’s a limit to how many clone shops one of the city’s centre can handle.
Bigger is just going to add more free space that isn’t housing new business or pop-up shops… Hurrah, more empty shop fronts to look at! That emptiness would just highlight what’s missing even more.
Why not smaller and cleaner Broadmead, slash the rent to new startups / SME’s, sell it as the freaking cool independent quarter next to the new build Cabot’s circus, invite Bristol college and Uni students to take some space, the PM studio to take some space, knock half of it down and make a nice big park. (The knocking down might be a bit much, but I do like green space)