Bristol Developments

[dronkula]

Originally Posted by gothicform

i assume merchants court is NOT on this site -
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=909
am i right?

No, it's not.

Actually, you need to update your Bristol listings a bit. Broadquay Central was cancelled (and I don't think it ever actually got approved). The new Broadquay project that Andrew mentioned is now going ahead on that site and they're just recladding the existing tower and not knocking it down.

You're missing St Mary Redcliffe church from your Bristol listing - it's the tallest building in the city!

And Avon House is now a hotel and no longer office.

[Andrew]

Thanks for clearing that up dronkula, I didn't know anything about the development that I posted the info about, I just saw it and thought it'd be of interest on this thread. I was wondering how this related to the other proposal for the building and which was the active proposal.

[gothicform]

thanks dronkula. it WAS approved but as you say hasnt been built... we're not missing st mary redcliffe. its tall because of its spire, youre looking at the heights rated by roof arent you i realise in some lists there's no way of ordering the spire by height, we forgot to do that. dont worry itll be done soon enough now jay is off maternity leave.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=685

[Andrew]

I like the new learning resource centre, it looks really cool and the masterplan for the area looks like it could be pretty smart as well.

[Pondle]

Why is there such seeming developer reluctance to propose, or local authority reluctance to approve, tall buildings in Bristol? Given the extent of activity in Cardiff - not to mention Swansea and even Newport - I would have expected something to be happening in a larger, more prosperous city like Bristol.

[dronkula]

Partly it's because Bristol is doing alright already without big new (tall) developments. Places like Swansea and Newport are trying to encourage new businesses into them. Bristol manages to attract those businesses without having to stick them all in a nice shiny-new tower.

Also, until recently, the policy in Bristol was that no building could be taller than something like 90m as that's the height of St Mary Redcliffe church. Thankfully, that particular policy has now been scrapped and several 'zones' have been identified for tall building.

[Andrew]

I would also say that tall buildings are more of an issue in Bristol given the history of the city. In comparison Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are more modern and you could build tall practically anywhere in the centre of any of those cities (within reason) without compromising the settings of their historic buildings. That's not to say that tall buildings in Bristol would be out of place, rather that more care has to be put into their placement, massing, design etc. Hence the recent tall buildings policy by Bristol city council to give some guidance to developers. Now that that guidance is there tall buildings will be less of a minefield for developers and the city should see more high rise proposals, indeed it allready is starting to see those proposals.

[dronkula]

Colston Hall development approved
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4612460.stm


An ambitious £20m scheme to transform Bristol's Colston Hall into one of the UK's top entertainment venues has been approved by city councillors.

The redevelopment will retain the Victorian listed building while creating a new landmark foyer.

It will include state-of-the-art box office facilities, bars and cafes and improved disabled access.

With the Cabinet's approval, work will start on preparing a detailed planning application to be submitted in May.

The scheme, due to be completed by the end of 2008, is supported by a £7m grant from the Arts Council England.

Deputy council leader Simon Cook said: "We can now move forward with our ambitious plans for Colston Hall.

"This exciting development is both deliverable and affordable and will transform Colston Hall into a centre of regional importance."

[Ciudad Bristol]

Some rather small images of the Broadmead Merchants Quarter under development.

Tollgate house is now reday for demolition:


Site for the new Harvey Nicks and resi tower above:

[yogib52]

Hi Guys, A newbie here. Really enjoyed reading the stuff about my home city and also enjoyed the photo's of the new delevopments going on around the city (when the weather gets a little better I will hopefully get out and about and take some pictures).

I'm not sure if you guy's have seen this site before but there are some cool pictures of tollgate house before the demolition work started. Check it out on....

http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten....of_bristol.htm

[dronkula]

Something else happening down by the train station:

APPROVAL FOR NEW PUBLIC PIAZZA AT TEMPLE GATE
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displ...folderPk=83726

11:00 - 16 March 2006
Train and bus passengers arriving in Bristol will be greeted by a multi- million pound gateway development after planners gave the go-ahead for the Temple Gate site. The area near Temple Meads station will now undergo a complete rejuvenation which will see shops, offices and 220 flats rise from the current derelict office blocks.

Bristol & Exeter House will be retained but Herbert House, which stands on the corner of Lower Station Approach and Temple Gate, and Collett House, which stands behind it, will be demolished.

Bristol & Exeter House will be flanked by new buildings to create a new public piazza that will make for a much more attractive "front door" to the city.

Bristol City Council approved the plans despite fears that buses running from the station would be disrupted during the revamp work. Some councillors were also worried that the project's design was too boring.

But the development control (central) committee gave its approval after hearing two previous schemes for the site had been rejected.

Planning officer Ian Collinson said the site, opposite the Empire and Commonwealth Museum on Station Approach Road, was a "gateway into Bristol" and deserved to be redeveloped well.

He said: "I think everyone would agree the current buildings are fairly unattractive and don't provide a good 'front door' to Bristol."

Once the new scheme is finished, people will be able to walk from the station to Cattle Market Road.

This means that when the long-awaited 10,000 seat arena is built at the nearby former Bath Road sidings, pedestrians will have a short walk from the station to the venue.

The plans, submitted by Bristol Exeter House Ltd, will see Collett House, Herbert House and the former telephone exchange demolished.

The five new blocks, up to eight storeys high, will contain offices and flats. Shops restaurants and bars will be built on the ground floors of the flats. At night, the glass in the offices will be illuminated in different colours.

A new road will be built to the site from Cattle Market Road and there will be basement parking on the site for residents and workers.

The developer has agreed to 44 of the one-, two- and three-bedroom flats being used as affordable housing.

They have also agreed to give £510,000 to a variety of cycling and walking schemes, £200,000 for public transport, £260,000 for recreational facilities and £160,000 for public art.

[Ciudad Bristol]

It IS boring.

[Ciudad Bristol]

[Ciudad Bristol]

Bristol & West Tower redevelopment (about 2 weeks old):

[dronkula]

Arena architect teams are named


The architect team for the new Bristol Arena has been named.

Burland TM has been appointed as masterplanner of the site with HOK sport architecture chosen to design the arena building and facilities.

Richard Olsen of Bristol Waterside Arena Ltd said: "From the start, BWA has been committed to delivering a world-class development on the site.

"The first step in this process is putting together a world-class team to design the scheme."

'Step forward'

James Burland added: "There is a real opportunity to create something fantastic for Bristol on the Arena site but there are challenges that need to be overcome before we can achieve this.

"Our first task is to fully understand the site and the surrounding areas - only when we have done this will we begin to develop detailed designs."

Ian Thompson of South West Regional Development Agency said: "This is another important step forward for the Bristol Arena and it is very encouraging that we have been able to attract a design team of this calibre for the project."

The project has so far cost £13m, a figure which has included buying the nine-acre site and clearing it.

[Ciudad Bristol]

Bottom line - This will not be ready in 2008 as planned then.

[dronkula]

Since last year they've been saying it'll be ready in 2009. The original 2008 date was just for when we were trying to be capital of culture in that year.

Once we lost that, they had a look at it again and went for a later date and do it properly. We waited at least 20 years for this, one more year isn't going to hurt.

The guys that'll eventually be running it also run the MEN at the moment so hopefully it should be pretty successful

[dronkula]

More good news for Bristol! Although the 'Landmark Office Building' next to Bristol Bridge will (hopefully) not be anything tall - it's not the right location for a tall building.

Firm picked for £150m development
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4875478.stm


Developers Deeley Freed Estates have been chosen as the preferred partners for a £150m development based in Bristol's city centre.

The St Mary le Port site covers the historic Castle Green area.

Landowners Bristol City Council, Morley Fund Management and Strand Street Properties will now work with the firm on a planning application.

If successful, work to create the multi-million pound development will start in 2007.

The scheme will be a mix of offices and residential with retail and leisure outlets.

The proposals from Deeley Freed also includes a landmark office building next to Bristol Bridge.

The scheme will now face a review period and a detailed public consultation.

[Ciudad Bristol]

Last week from Colston Tower

[yogib52]

The old Bristol and West tower as it is today 7/4/06

[IMG]c:\russ[/IMG]