PropList Blog
17th September 2019
Yesterday Richard Howells, CEO of PropList, was amongst guests for the second stage presentation on the future vision for Bristol, presented by Marvin Rees Mayor of Bristol and his team.
The view from the stall was that Bristol continues to have one of the best and most exciting programmes of development of all cities outside of London. While there are plans and growth in other areas, Bristol is exceptional in engaging with all stakeholders, from developers and investors through to the university and community groups, and presenting a strategy for the city that, most impressively, is backed across the entire political spectrum.
What is most impressive about the plans for Bristol is they are actual plans - rather than hollow words about how much growth to the city achieve, there are clear and actual plans on how it will be achieved, backed up by infrastucture projects to support greener city initiatives and using the skills of the workforce in green industry, life sciences, design and technology and the creative areas.
Add this plan to a relatively strong retail sector, great leisure facilities and a student base that gets attached to the city, the potential for growth is amazing. Even the elephant in the room Temple Meads railway station, one of the least developed within Network Rail, is undergoing changes that help support this growth plan.
There are a number of issues that remain to be addressed, in particular the public transport from the new housing areas to the city centre, in order to reduce the number of cars on the road or provision of out of town / parking and the movement of people from the to be revitalised Temple Meads area through the city to Clifton seems to gravitate the walker away from the city centre and there is a distinct lack of public transport through the area. However, a tram from station, to city to University could be an interesting proposition.
All in all, there are still many difficulties to overcome but there is a confidence, almost a swagger, and passion from the Mayor and his team that makes you think this just the start of the next stage of Bristol's evolution - goodbye Brunel and welcome to the new Bristol.
The view from the stall was that Bristol continues to have one of the best and most exciting programmes of development of all cities outside of London. While there are plans and growth in other areas, Bristol is exceptional in engaging with all stakeholders, from developers and investors through to the university and community groups, and presenting a strategy for the city that, most impressively, is backed across the entire political spectrum.
What is most impressive about the plans for Bristol is they are actual plans - rather than hollow words about how much growth to the city achieve, there are clear and actual plans on how it will be achieved, backed up by infrastucture projects to support greener city initiatives and using the skills of the workforce in green industry, life sciences, design and technology and the creative areas.
Add this plan to a relatively strong retail sector, great leisure facilities and a student base that gets attached to the city, the potential for growth is amazing. Even the elephant in the room Temple Meads railway station, one of the least developed within Network Rail, is undergoing changes that help support this growth plan.
There are a number of issues that remain to be addressed, in particular the public transport from the new housing areas to the city centre, in order to reduce the number of cars on the road or provision of out of town / parking and the movement of people from the to be revitalised Temple Meads area through the city to Clifton seems to gravitate the walker away from the city centre and there is a distinct lack of public transport through the area. However, a tram from station, to city to University could be an interesting proposition.
All in all, there are still many difficulties to overcome but there is a confidence, almost a swagger, and passion from the Mayor and his team that makes you think this just the start of the next stage of Bristol's evolution - goodbye Brunel and welcome to the new Bristol.
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