Vacant land in Bristol’s new enterprise zone is being brought back to life this week by a community-based scheme to grow organic food.
The Severn Project has begun preparations to set up a temporary urban farm on the former Bath Road diesel depot site near Bristol Temple Meads railway station.
The pioneering project will produce ‘carbon-free’ salad for local food restaurants by regenerating a rundown part of the zone while also creating jobs and training opportunities for people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.
It aims to produce up to 250kg of salad a week using seven poly-tunnels and soil laid on a three-acre plot.
It is the latest in a series of creative and innovative projects being brought to Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, pictured, by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which owns six sites in the area and is working to develop long-term plans for its land to help bring thousands of new jobs to Bristol.
This enterprise zone, which is being led by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Bristol City Council, aims to create 17,000 jobs in the creative and technology sectors over the next 25 years.
Severn Project founder Steve Glover said: “We will be using this site to produce enough salad leaves to serve our existing customers and wholesale markets in Bristol, and are looking to employ more people on the project as a result of this work.
“I have seen in my work on this project, and from my own experience, that the best way to beat dependence is to engage people in work. So this is a great opportunity for us to continue our work and give people who need support the chance to enter the employment market. We hope to be able to make a positive difference to the area, and the lives of people involved in the project.”
The HCA will let the Severn Project use the site free of charge for up to two years and is paying £52,000 towards buying and installing the poly-tunnels and putting down the soil. The work will create at least two jobs and sustain the wider project, which employs five staff at sites in Keynsham and Whitchurch. Among restaurants it already supplies are The Glassboat in Bristol city centre and the award-winning Pony and Trap, near Chew Magna.
An HCA-owned site next to Temple Meads station and within the enterprise zone is housing a big-top circus tent used by Creative Common for live performances and events which have attracted thousands of visitors to the zone.
HCA head of area David Warburton said: “We want to support temporary, innovative and creative uses of this site and others we own within the zone while longer-term plans are being developed. This is a fantastic project which will create employment for people in need of training and support as well as supporting the business. Major work is needed to improve access to the site and its connections with the rest of the zone. Until this happens, we want the area to be used in a productive and worthwhile way, and this is exactly what the Severn Project will be doing.”
LEP chair Colin Skellett added: “The focus of our enterprise zone is creativity and this is another great example of how creative the people who live and work in our area can be. Whether it is cutting-edge technology or cutting organic vegetables, it is the imaginative use of our skills that will bring economic prosperity. Our job in the LEP is to make sure there are no obstacles that get in the way.”
Bristol City Council leader Cllr Simon Cook said: “This is a very worthwhile project that will not only make good use of this currently unused space but will also promote local food growing in urban areas, which is something we’re committed to supporting. It’s great that the simplified planning approach we’ve introduced within this area of the enterprise zone has helped to progress this initiative.”
