Bristol gateway to be transformed

A major gateway to Bristol city centre will be transformed as a prime site next to Temple Meads Railway Station comes to the market. Bristol Temple Meads is one of the jewels in the Brunel-engineered Great Western Railway and remains a busy gateway on this vital route.

The land, known as Plot 6, measures 4.5 acres (1.86 hectares) and lies between Temple Quay and Temple Meads station. It is currently used for car parking and storage. Joint landowners the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) and Network Rail have announced plans to realise its full potential by redeveloping it with a high quality mixed-use scheme including 300,000sq ft of residential, retail and office space.

It will also include a new 522 space multi-storey car park for station users. Network Rail and the South West RDA are now looking for a private developer as a partner to deliver the scheme.

The development will mark the beginning of the third phase of work on the ambitious £750m Temple Quarter project to revitalise the eastern end of central Bristol, which has already seen derelict land at Temple Quay transformed into a thriving office district. The Plot 6 development will complement the existing development by introducing a wider range of amenities and activities to the area.

Some of the money released by the sale will help fund future major improvements to the station itself. Network Rail is undertaking feasibility studies for major station improvements to improve amenities on the site of the Passenger Shed.

Peter Holloway, South West RDA development manager, said: “Bristol is the economic powerhouse of the South West. By creating a first class gateway into the city, this project will ensure the business potential of Bristol is unlocked to enable the city to successfully compete with top ranked commercial centres both nationally and across the world.”

Network Rail’s director of commercial property Mick Martin said: “All over the country we are seeking opportunities to release the commercial potential of our property portfolio in order to invest in passenger and freight facilities. The realisation of these opportunities will not only improve the railway for all who use it but can also be a catalyst for the regeneration of communities.”

Andrew Batchelor of Hartnell Taylor Cook LLP, which is advising Network Rail, said: “It is a fantastic site and already one of the best locations in Bristol, but as a transport and sustainability continues to climb the priority ladder for occupiers, it can only go from strength to strength.”

Dan Haines, development surveyor at Savills, which is advising the South West RDA, said: “We are of the opinion that this is one of the very best development sites within Bristol and expect a significant amount of interest from commercial, residential and mixed-use developers.”

It is proposed that travellers arriving at the station by car will in future access the station and the new multi-storey car park via Friary (the main Temple Quay access road). This will enable Station Approach, the road leading to the main station entrance, to be restricted to buses, coaches and taxis.

Short term parking will be moved from the concourse to part of the new multi storey car park.

Construction is expected to take about three years and, subject to the necessary planning consents, is scheduled to start in 2009.

Developers are invited to submit expressions of interest, in accordance with the Individual Contract Notice and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, to Savills (L&P) Ltd at Queens Avenue, Embassy House, Bristol, BS8 1SB or to Hartnell Taylor Cook LLP at Somerset House, Queens Avenue, 18 Canynge Road, Bristol, BS8 3JX, by March 25, 2008.