Stalled development schemes in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare are to go ahead thanks to kick-start grants from the Homes and Communities Agency as part of the Government’s £420m Get Britain Building programme.
Phase 1 of a mixed-use development on Wapping Wharf – the last significant site on Bristol Harbourside – consists of 185 apartments as well as retail and leisure space targeted at local businesses.
There are also significant related public realm benefits including a new public square and construction of major pedestrian and cycle route through Harbourside.
The land, now used as a car park, was cleared to make way for hundreds of homes, an hotel and shops and cafes. It is high-profile site, next to the M Shed museum and is rated a Local Investment Plan priority in Bristol’s central area.
The scheme is being developed by West Midlands firm Umberslade whose managing director Stuart Hatton is planning to start work on the site in May and hoping to begin the main building work before the end of the year, subject to detailed planning consent.
The scheme’s proposed shop-lined walkway linking Cumberland Road and the M Shed will link up with the city’s planned bus rapid transit network.
In Weston, developer Modwen will now press ahead with the second phase of multi-phase scheme – totalling around 1,800 units – at the former RAF Locking site, now known as Locking Parklands.
The overall scheme will include one of the largest leisure development schemes in the UK – the £50m LeisureDome development – which was given planning permission last year. This will be built alongside a new retail centre and there will also be offices, education and recreation facilities and open space.
