The regeneration of the north side of Bristol’s Harbourside is nearing completion after more than two decades of development with the imminent sale of the former Canon’s Marsh Gasworks site.
The parcel of land, which sits between Anchor Road and the Floating Harbour, is the last remaining piece of the regeneration jigsaw of the entire area.
Property adviser Bilfinger GVA has brokered a deal on the 0.4 ha site on an unconditional basis with London-based developer Square Bay, which plans to build homes on the land.
The site contains the walls of two Grade II listed stone buildings now in disrepair – Purifier House West and Engine House – and a listed boundary wall.
It has lain vacant and abandoned for around 40 years. For the last 20 years or so, development of the Harbourside has gone on around it, including hundreds of apartments, bars, restaurants, shops and new public spaces.
The site, which has unrivalled views across to the SS Great Britain and Harbourside, has planning permission and listed building consent for a commercial office scheme.
Bilfinger GVA is now working with Square Bay on a new planning application for a primarily residential-led scheme.
Bilfinger GVA associate James Petherick, who represented the vendor in the sale, said: “This remarkable site is one of the final undeveloped parcels on Bristol’s Harbourside which, despite best efforts by the former land owner, has remained vacant for many years.
“I am sure that Square Bay’s exciting development proposals will soon see high-quality development of this site with breath-taking views of Brunel’s SS Great Britain.”
Square Bay director Tom Vaughan-Jones added: “We are very pleased to have purchased the Purifier site. It is an incredibly important, prominent site and is the final piece of the jigsaw for the harbour side. It will be great to see the site developed and the listed buildings brought back into use.”
Square Bay has interests in a number of other sites around Bristol and the West of England, including a six-storey, 166-apartment residential block in Temple Quarter, the former Redwood Hotel & Country Club in Failand and scheme in Bath and Wiltshire.
