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Mayor responds to concerns about Temple Island amid shift to home working
The new alternative vision for the derelict patch of land once earmarked as a site for Bristol’s arena was unveiled long before the pandemic.
With images depicting tall blocks with grass rooftops, the plans set out by Legal & General (L&G) for the land by Temple Meads include a conference centre, hotel, 550 homes and two large office blocks.
Bristol City Council and the asset management firm forged a “strategic partnership” to progress the development, which – as things currently stand – will involve using public money to underwrite the costs of the office buildings.
is needed now More than ever
But some councillors have recently raised fears about the potential risk to the council of proceeding with such a deal when the pandemic has resulted in a seismic shift towards home working.
Responding to concerns on Wednesday, mayor Marvin Rees said he is pretty confident about the robustness of the market in the city.
Concerns have been raised about council investment in office blocks amid a seismic shift towards home working – image courtesy of Legal & General
“It’s a question that people are wrestling with at the moment around the future shape of high streets and city centres and patterns of working,” said Rees.
“We have not had any major alarm bells ringing about the development in the city. We are still confident Bristol is a very attractive place for business. We have people relocating here for the quality of life. I think we can be pretty confident of the robustness of our market here because of how attractive and prominent we are becoming as a city.”
He added that the design of buildings will develop and adapt but argued space will still be needed, citing a recent conversation with science incubator Unit DX, which is in need of property to fulfil expansion plans.
Executive director of growth and regeneration Stephen Peacock told councillors at a recent scrutiny meeting the overall agreement with L&G was yet to be signed, and the council had “at least 18 months” to decide whether to take the option on the head lease on the office space planned for Temple Island.
He said the current proposals for the site are flexible enough to allow the council to change its plans according to future changes in the market.
But Green councillor and metro mayor candidate Jerome Thomas warned the council needed to “keep a very careful eye on” the deal.
“The very obvious concern (is) with the huge impact that Covid-19 has had on work patterns, and some likely permanent changes, the risk of the council investing in a large office block on Temple Island,” he said.
The mayor said no “major alarm bells are ringing’ about the development near Temple Meads – photo by Ellie Pipe
Speaking on Wednesday, Rees said the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated existing trends, with both high streets and ways of working changing.
He said as long as Bristol takes a “proactive and intentional” approach to envisioning a future for high streets and the city centre, it should be in a reasonable position.
Main image courtesy of L&G
Read more: Fears over council investment in Temple Island office blocks amid home working revolution
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