City planners are set to finally give their approval to a plan to transform a landmark site next to Temple Meads station, which was once the location for Bristol’s dream of a city centre concert arena.
The area known as ‘Temple Island’ will now instead be developed with a hotel and conference centre, offices and four blocks of flats providing up to 520 new ‘build-to-rent’ homes. City councillors will meet next week to decide on the project – and their planning officers are recommending it be given approval.
That recommendation is being made despite a late change by the applications. Earlier this month, Bristol Live revealed that the developers, insurance and property giants L&G, had asked for a legal requirement that 20 per cent of those 520 new homes be classed as ‘affordable’ and rented out to people on Bristol’s long housing waiting list be dropped.
L&G said including that requirement made the entire project not financially viable, and city council planning officers will next week tell councillors they agree.
(Image: Legal & General )
One of the four blocks of flats – two will be up to 19-storeys tall – is planned to be where all the ‘affordable homes’ would be included, and L&G said it would still do that, if the Government’s Homes England development agency made up the financial shortfall with a grant, using tax-payers money.
The planning application is a ‘hybrid’ one, a combination of a plan in principle, and some parts with more detail, but there will be a lot of work between the developers and planning officers after the April 1 meeting at which the scheme is expected to be approved.
READ MORE: Huge Temple Island developer says it can’t afford to include ‘affordable homes’
The site, between the Bath Road and the River Avon, to the south of Temple Meads station, had planning permission for a 12,000-capacity concert arena – a plan described by Bristol’s first elected mayor George Ferguson as ‘shovel-ready’.
Work to start that council-funded project was put on hold and then dropped by the city’s next mayor Marvin Rees, who threw his support behind a plan by Malaysian company YTL to convert the Brabazon Hangar into a bigger arena at Filton.
Work on that transformation is only now getting underway, almost ten years after city centre arena was shelved.
The city council under Marvin Rees turned to financial giants Legal & General to redevelop the ‘Temple Island’ site, and the plan is for a 15-storey hotel with 163 rooms and conference facilities, two new office buildings and retail space, a ‘flexible community use building’ and four blocks of flats – two would be 15-storeys and two would be 19-storeys.
A view of the Albert Road and Temple Island area of Bristol, 2024(Image: Google Earth)
L&G said the entire project could ‘deliver around 3,000 full-time jobs, and the city council’s planning officers will tell councillors that L&G will pay the council £6.5 million in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and another £1.2m for transport improvements.
L&G are also funding a connection between the site and the Bath Road – which will cost £2.2m, and is paying to have the buildings connected to the City Leap Heat Network, which will cost around £10.2m.
L&G’s late request to drop the requirement for affordable homes has been controversial. Council planning officers sent L&G’s viability report which claimed it couldn’t afford to include affordable homes to a different expert in the city, who agreed it was the case, because greater fire safety on tall buildings now meant they were less cost-effective.
The city council’s planning officers also pointed out to L&G that their figures showed they were set to build a hotel that would cost £10 million more to build than the building would be worth when it’s finished – and that was skewing the figures for the rest of the plan.
An artists impression of new student accommodation on Albert Road in Bristol, which includes L&G’s Temple Island tower blocks behind(Image: Cubex)
“Officers noted that the hotel element of the scheme is claimed to cost in the region of £10 million more to build than it is worth once completed,” the planning officers said. “Consequently clarification has been sought from the applicant as to why the hotel was included, given that it was neither contractually required nor necessary to comply with planning requirements,” they added.
L&G responded that a hotel and conference centre was key to the mixed use application, and would benefit the city’s economy having such a venue next to the station.
The plan has the backing of the University of Bristol, which still has a plan to build student flats on a different part of ‘Temple Island’, and opens its new Temple Quarter campus on the other side of the river in September this year.
“L&G’s masterplan sets out a compelling vision for a vibrant, inclusive, mixed use development at the heart of Temple Quarter, immediately adjacent to the University’s new flagship Enterprise Campus,” vice-chancellor Evelyn Welch told the council. “It is important that this momentum is maintained so that the next phase of inclusive growth and renewal in this part of the city can be realised without delay.
Prof Evelyn Welch at the site of the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter campus(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
“The Temple Quarter represents a once in a generation opportunity to deliver inclusive growth for the city, and the University is committed to playing a central role in its future. Our new civic campus will bring thousands of students, researchers, and staff into the area, creating a major hub for innovation, skills development, enterprise, and collaboration with partners across the region.
“L&G’s proposals for Temple Island will complement the University’s ambitions by delivering a mix of high quality spaces and amenities that help establish the district as a dynamic, welcoming destination for residents, businesses, and visitors. The scheme will play an important role in supporting a lively, mixed-use community around the Enterprise Campus,” she added.
L&G said the plan would transform what has been an empty site for decades.
“Our plan for Temple Island represents a real opportunity to transform the former diesel depot site into a vibrant new part of the City, and we’re pleased to see the Planning Officer recommend our hybrid application for approval,” he said.
Legal & General has unveiled its vision of a £350 million redevelopment complex for 500 new apartments, office buildings, commercial space and a hotel at Temple Island (Image: Legal & General)
“After years of the site standing empty, we look forward to continuing to work with our long‑term partners to develop the site into a thriving neighbourhood with new high‑quality homes for local families, commercial space that attract good jobs and new investment, and a wide range of amenities for the public to enjoy,” he added.
L&G reiterated the firm’s commitment to including affordable homes at Temple Island – albeit if Homes England and the taxpayer pays for it.
“A central ambition for Temple Island is delivering affordable homes in the heart of Bristol,” the firm said.
“L&G continues to work closely with Bristol City Council and Homes England to fulfil its commitment to bring forward one of the residential blocks as affordable housing. This approach ensures value for taxpayers by enabling public investment to work alongside institutional pension capital, and is essential to keeping major mixed‑tenure housing schemes deliverable in the current market,” they added.
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