The full outline planning application can be viewed on the Bristol City Council website. Please make your views known. An article about the development, written by the convener of Bristol Civic Society’s Major Sites Group, is reproduced in full below. Key issues have been highlighted in bold by TRESA.
“The University has run out of space to accommodate major, science-led growth. The new Campus in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone will occupy the sites of the former cattle market and part of the former diesel depot, which it will share with the Arena. The Council will knock down the eyesore of the partially demolished Royal Mail sorting office on the Cattle Market site. The Arena Island site is cleared of buildings.
“Bristol has one of the UK’s largest and fastest growing hightech clusters and is a home to digital innovation. The scheme plans four buildings between 8 and 12 storeys tall on the Cattle Market site and three buildings between 11 and 25 storeys tall on the Arena site to house 1,500 student bedrooms.
“The Society strongly supports the University proposal to develop on these derelict sites in the Enterprise Zone. The Society accepts that the east side of the river, away from the Grade I listed, Temple Meads Station, may be a site appropriate for tall buildings. The Council will assess the impact of tall buildings on the cityscape from many viewpoints. The Society has said that this scheme requires exemplary architecture, the large and important new buildings will be prominent in the Enterprise Zone. The tallest building gives an opportunity to create an internationally recognised symbol of the University and the City’s aspirations; an image that and [sic] University and the City will be proud to reproduce in their publicity. A design to match the Wills Tower would be impressive. The Society would like to see the Campus reuse the Cattle Market Tavern, which stands on a corner of the site and could provide an attractive use ancillary to the Campus and create local character alongside a massive modern development.
“The Universities add to Bristol’s activity, economy, business and employment opportunities and are a source of civic pride. The Council and the universities must find accommodation to mitigate the recent growth of student numbers. Soon there will be 60,000 students; equal to 10% of greater Bristol’s urban area population, during term time. The number of these generally short-term residents disproportionately affects, among other matters, house prices and rents, communities where there is a high concentration of students and Council finances. Most student accommodation is exempt from Council Tax but the Council must provide services to tens of thousands of students, which is an unsustainable pressure on Council resources. In recent years the University has expanded continuously and left the market to provide accommodation for its expanding population. Despite the growth of privately managed student halls of residence this laissez-faire policy has damaged the local housing market.
“There is political disquiet. The Society has not seen a projection of the number of academic and non-academic staff who will work on the campus. At this stage in the planning process the proposals for the public realm remain to be resolved. The public realm on the island must be considered in the wider landscape of the whole Enterprise Zone in which it is an important element.
“The masterplan includes aspirations for new bridge(s) across the waterways and to construct/improve new/existing shared cycle/pedestrian routes. The Society has asked whether the University and Council have discussed the University’s travel plan. There will
be widespread public concern about the substantial peak time traffic that the Campus will generate. The local road network is at capacity during peak hours. There is great local concern about the impact on day-time parking in Totterdown and the Bath Road. The Society has also asked the University and the Council whether they may have discussed the improvement of services with local bus companies. A failing of this site is that there is no concentration of bus services. An inadequate bus service is a weakness of the whole Enterprise Zone.”
John Frenkel, convener of the Bristol Civic Society’s Major Sites Group
The full outline planning application can be viewed on the Bristol City Council website. Please take the time to comment and make your views known.