St Philip’s Marsh is a major part of the wider Bristol Temple Quarter (BTQ) area, with the opportunity to create a sustainable, mixed-use neighbourhood with thousands of new homes and jobs, alongside new public spaces, community infrastructure, and industrial land.
Now, the Bristol Temple Quarter LLP – the company established by Bristol City Council, Homes England, and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to take charge of the programme – has published early suggested ideas for how the area could change.
The BTQ LLP has developed three different scenarios to transform the area, while tackling major challenges like flood risk, a lack of public transport, and infrastructure like low railway bridges.
Each scenario explores different options for things like the location of new green spaces, where a new local centre could be located, and how to improve travel and movement through the area.
Feedback will help shape a final masterplan that will set out ambitions and potential delivery options. The plan is likely to be a blend of ideas from each scenario and will be published later this year.
Key ideas being suggested include:
- The pedestrianisation of some roads within St Philip’s Marsh to make space for new local centres or highstreets, with new community facilities.
- A new road from St Philip’s Causeway over the railway, to create a bespoke HGV access into and around a new industrial quarter, enabling convenient access for businesses.
- A significant increase in green space, with different scenarios including a new park or a range of smaller, connected greenspaces.
- The introduction of public transport routes into the marsh, tackling a long-standing issue with access for communities and employees.
- Dividing the area to create a genuinely mixed-use development with new homes, jobs, public space, alongside a standalone industrial area to support new and existing industrial uses.
Bristol Temple Quarter has the potential for over 10,000 new homes, helping to tackle the city’s chronic housing shortage. St Philip’s Marsh could be the location for more than 7,500 of these, with a focus on the northwest and south of the marsh, closer to the station and the River Avon.
Alongside exploring options for a nationally significant number of new homes, which was recognised in yesterday’s Infrastructure Strategy, the emerging masterplan seeks to provide approximately the same amount of industrial floorspace as is currently in the area. St Philip’s Marsh is home to a number of businesses and the BTQ partners are eager to retain as many of these as possible within the area. By intensifying the use of land, the masterplan explores options for doing this, while creating space for homes, community infrastructure and new greenspace, all of which are currently lacking.
The emerging masterplan Ideas build on feedback given during the Temple Quarter Development Framework consultation in early 2023. The public’s priorities included the need for jobs and apprenticeships in the area; tackling the lack of greenspace and biodiversity; creating a mix of workspace, homes, and cultural uses; and maximising housing delivery in the area.
After a single preferred option has been developed, the LLP intends to submit the masterplan to the Local Planning Authority for adoption as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This will help to guide new developments that come forward, helping to ensure they align with the partners’ vision for the area.
Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, said:
“It’s great to see more progress being made in Bristol Temple Quarter, where I’m keen to listen to local businesses and neighbouring communities so that we bring people with us. St Philip’s Marsh is a central part of our ambition for the West’s future. There is the potential for thousands of sustainable new homes and jobs in a genuinely mixed-use community, alongside our region’s busiest railway station and the river and canal.
“Together with Brabazon, this is one of the most significant regeneration schemes in the country – and I want local people to build whatever comes next. This is not just about supporting the growth of one city, it’s about transforming a site central to the whole of the West of England. The wider project will unlock long-term opportunity, jobs, investment and economic growth for people across our entire region.”
Councillor Andrew Brown, Chair of the Economy and Skills Committee at Bristol City Council, said:
“I am pleased to see that the next stage of engagement for St Philip’s Marsh is being launched, building on community feedback received over the last two years. This development is a hugely important opportunity for Bristol, not just in terms of delivering the new homes and green spaces which the city urgently needs, but also driving inclusive growth by supporting access to jobs, skills and opportunities.
“St Philip’s Marsh currently plays a key role in the city’s economy, and the evolution of the area must reflect the needs of Bristol’s diverse and growing population, so it is important that residents have their say on what matters most to them as the area changes.”
Nigel Barclay, Homes England board representative of Bristol Temple Quarter LLP, said:
“St Philip’s Marsh presents a nationally significant opportunity to deliver new homes, jobs and public spaces in a way that benefits local communities and the city as a whole. Local people are key to shaping the Master Plan, a pivotal document that lay out clear ambitions and underpin work to underpin further investment.
“Homes England is proud to be working in partnership with Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority through the Bristol Temple Quarter LLP to help realise local regeneration and housing ambitions. It is only through collaboration that we can unlock the area’s true potential and deliver development, which is inclusive, sustainable, and shaped by the people who know the area best.”
Karen Mercer, CEO of Bristol Temple Quarter LLP, said:
“The Bristol Temple Quarter Limited Liability Partnership (BTQ LLP) was created to drive change in Bristol in a coordinated and comprehensive way.
“The St Philip’s Marsh development offers a huge opportunity to deliver transformational growth in Bristol and will play a key role in the government’s national growth story. This is an exciting step for the project and is a great marker of our progress so far.”
