From Bristol 24-7 www.bristol247.com
A £10m windfall from the sale of land at Avonmouth and Portbury docks could be used to regenerate parts of Bristol’s Old City, Mayor George Ferguson has said.
The cabinet is due to decide on the sale of the freehold of the land which makes up the port and its immediate surroundings. Council officers are recommending that the sale. 
The city council sold the port to The Bristol Port Company in 1991 with a 150-year lease on the land. The council also retained a 12.5% share in the Port Company, for which it currently receives income of about £1m a year.
A provisional agreement has been reached to sell the residual freehold of the land, which currently gives the city no income or rights, for £10m. The council today claimed the figure is “several times higher than its market value”.
The council will retain its 12.5% share.
Mayor Ferguson has said the windfall could be used to kick-start development projects in the city – including the Old City area.
“Should I decide to go ahead, my plan is that the £10m is put to work by investing it in a revolving city development fund which helps us kick-start languishing high value projects,” he said.
“For example this might include the much needed regeneration of the High Street and could do so much to revive the heart of the Old City. The income would mean we can make some key acquisitions and enter into joint ventures which provide an even better city with all sorts of new job opportunities.
“We have driven a hard bargain with The Bristol Port Company, one which recognises the hugely beneficial impact which selling the freehold could have. By selling the freehold we … open up opportunities for hundreds of millions of pounds of future investment in Bristol’s port.
“We know that the [Port] Company has every intention of continuing to run a successful and prosperous port for the long term, and by making this deal we would make sure they can secure the investment they need to do that. Before we get there we do need to look closely at every eventuality.
