Development projects around Bristol ranging from a long-awaited new railway station and an upgrade of one of the city’s busiest roads to pioneering academic and industrial research have received financial support from a government scheme aimed at getting Britain building in the post-Covid era.
The seven-strong list of projects across the West of England will benefit from investment through the Getting Building Fund. 
The single-platform station, pictured, on the Severn Beach Line into Bristol Temple Meads has been in the pipeline for more than a decade and now forms part of the MetroWest plans to improve rail services around the region.
Located between Avonmouth and Shirehampton stations next to the park-and-ride site at Portway, it is viewed as a vital element of efforts to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality around the Avonmouth area while also helping to reduce cars on the Portway at peak times.
The improvements on the A4018 between the city centre and Cribbs Causeway will include a cycle path, new pedestrian crossings, bus stop upgrades and variable message signs while the Industrial Internet of Things research programme will create a ‘centre of excellence’ for open research and innovation.
It will link key academic, research and economic locations around Bristol such as the Bristol & Bath Science Park, the National Composites Centre and UWE’s Bristol Robotics Lab and FutureSpace innovation hub on the university’s Frenchay campus.
Other schemes sharing the £13.7m pot include the development of a composite bridge design that can be efficiently and economically used in a variety of locations.
The funding has been secured by regional Metro Mayor Tim Bowles through the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
WECA said in total the seven projects would create or safeguard 2,403 jobs with a further 153 during construction. More than 265 businesses will benefit from work linked to the projects. No financial breakdown of the funding per project has been made. 
Mayor Bowles, pictured, said: “Through our economic recovery and renewal from Covid-19, I am accelerating my ambitious plans for the West of England.
“By securing this new funding from the government, we are able to get these projects moving so they can make a real and tangible difference to our local communities.
He said the projects were anticipated to improve connectivity across the region through significant transport works, investment in digital connectivity, bringing together academic research and economic sites, and regeneration to revitalise town centres and high streets.
WECA will administer the money alongside Local Growth Fund investments made through the LEP, whose chair, Prof Steve West, added: “As one of the most productive regions in the UK, the West of England is key to leading the national recovery. This latest funding from government recognises the important role we play.
“We are working together to ensure that we rebuild on the strengths of our economy and we remain focused on our longer-term ambitions for clean growth that benefits every resident.”
The £900m Getting Building Fund aims to deliver jobs, skills and infrastructure across the country and is being targeted at ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects in areas facing the biggest economic challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
