Plans are unveiled for Temple Meads area
A VISION for a new quarter of Bristol complete with a media village, an £80 million indoor arena and an unmanned tram system was unveiled yesterday.
A 25-year plan drawn up by the people behind the Temple Meads Enterprise Zone was made public yesterday. The scheme is part of a plan to create thousands of new jobs and revamp the area around Temple Meads station.
-
Graphics showing the site of the arena
The Local Enterprise Partnership is behind the scheme and chairman Colin Skellet presented the plans to around 300 business leaders at an event at Temple Meads station.
As reported in the Post the scheme will include a 12,000-seater indoor arena, new bridges, public squares, housing and office blocks.
This week's delicious £5 5 O'CLOCKTAIL is a refreshing Tequila Sunrise. Available everyday from our Bar for only £5 between 5pm & 7pm.
Terms: £5 cocktail applies to the cocktail of the week.
Contact: 0117 2448281
Valid until: Monday, May 27 2013
There are also plans to ferry people in and out of the area using a specially built unmanned transport system – similar to the one at Heathrow Airport.
Mr Skellet said he was "absolutely confident" an all-seater arena will be built in Bristol within the next four years. He added that plans were in place to create a media village – similar to the development in Salford – and talks had been taking place with the BBC over the plans.
He said: "I am absolutely confident we will have an arena and fairly confident that the BBC will come to the Enterprise Zone.
"We have been having various conversations with operators based around the costs of the arena.
"The arena has become an iconic symbol for Bristol because of the obvious need for one. A lot of people have said that it will never happen but I am saying that we can deliver an arena."
He added: "In terms of transport we are looking at building car parks on less valuable land on the fringes of the Enterprise Zone.
"The plan would be to use the unmanned pods as a system to connect the arena and the train station to the rest of the site. Eventually we want to connect to the city centre and we have looked at the figures and are confident that the system is economically viable."
Simon Cook, the leader of Bristol City Council, said: "I think the Enterprise Zone is one of the most exciting things to happen in the city for a very long time.
"This is a great opportunity to create a whole new quarter of the city. The Enterprise Zone will bring businesses and jobs as well as new leisure facilities and housing."
He added: "This is a great opportunity to create something unique and this is also a project of national significance. It is among the first wave of Enterprise Zones in the country and the only one in the city centre.
"There have been failures in the past but we should be looking forwards rather than looking backwards. All of this is down to the City Deal and it is very exciting that we could be seeing an arena in just four to five years time."
Comments
by Brizz_Tony
Thursday, October 04 2012, 10:09PM
“So it's a tram system tonight, is it? Talk about an evolving policy!
"There have been failures in the past" - pure genius!”
by bril_lil
Thursday, October 04 2012, 2:02PM
“Well, if I win over £100m on the Lottery, then I'll put a down-payment of £40m, then I'd challenge the dozens of extremely wealthy folks that live in the City to put their pocket-money in! It's how the exquisite St Mary Redcliffe church and many elsewhere, and that Bridge and ships were built/renovated in Bristol.
I'm more likely to win the Lottery than an arena being built!”
by kromax
Thursday, October 04 2012, 1:13PM
“Are there any bookies that would offer odds of the arena not opening in 2016 I would put down £200 now.”
by katachua
Thursday, October 04 2012, 12:57PM
“@gashead1970
"Its a 25 year plan 'cos it will take that amount of time to get started let alone finished"
Whay are you so cynical? Oh, right, 'gashead' - that explains it ;o)”
by nogbutt
Thursday, October 04 2012, 12:51PM
“a lot of this land could be turned from low value to high, if a real effort is made. with infrastructure, combined with doing up the canals and river banks, it could be a real jewel. the architecture is important, as spiggett says. it would be nice to come up with a new "bristol style", as has been done before.
the pictures in the post, though, with their orange and green, just lack a chocolate river and then they'd resemble an oompah-loompah reserve.”
by Spiggett
Thursday, October 04 2012, 12:20PM
“-Are we going to get some City-Sized Tall Buildings at last,
or will we still have to bow down to the St. Mary Redcliffe "Cake"?”
by gashead1970
Thursday, October 04 2012, 11:37AM
“Its a 25 year plan 'cos it will take that amount of time to get started let alone finished”
by warmup
Thursday, October 04 2012, 11:03AM
“I'll beleive it when I see it!!”