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Council buys derelict sorting office
The dilapidated facade of the Royal Mail sorting office which greets visitors as they arrive by train to Temple Meads could soon be a thing of the past.
The city council announced this morning that they had reached a deal to buy the notorious eyesore which has been derelict for 17 years.
Steps can now be taken to develop the prime location into offices and homes which would link the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone to Arena Island, over the Avon New Cut from Cattle Market Road.
is needed now More than ever
“Together these two sites have the potential to transform this crucial area,” said mayor George Ferguson ahead of a public briefing which was due to take place on site this morning.
After Royal Mail left the 1930s sorting office and adjoining 1970s office in 1997, the site was sold to Malaysian investors Kian Gwan for £5.3 million in 2008.
The city council has not revealed the price to bring the office back into public hands. However, Ferguson told BBC Radio Bristol that a deal was done for “under £6 million”.
The council said the purchase has been made possible through a grant of £5.425 million, from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The grant supported the transfer of Arena Island from the Homes and Communities Agency to Bristol City Council, allowing funding agreed by the mayor to acquire Arena Island to be used to buy the former sorting office at Cattle Market Road.
The council plans to bring in private developers to use the site for a mix of “employment space with some residential use”.
It will bring better connections to Temple Meads station and allow landing points for a new pedestrian bridge from Arena Island and links to a proposed floating pontoon cycleway and walkway connection to Temple Quay.
Ferguson said: “This purchase is a game changer. For years I have been ashamed of this disgraceful eyesore that greets visitors to the city arriving by train. Since taking office at the end of 2012 I have been determined to deal with a situation that has been out of our control.
“Now that at long last we have ownership of the site we can plan more holistically alongside our plans for nearby Arena Island. Together these two sites have the potential to transform this crucial area behind Temple Meads and stimulate the development of St Philips Marsh.
“We now need to take time to think about the future of this area, alongside the arena planning application which is due to be submitted at the end of the summer. We must make sure that the plans for the arena and this site work together to create a vibrant new mixed use development and that the consultation process takes this fully into account.”