People are being asked to have their say
Temple Meads station and the ‘Temple Quarter’ area(Image: Temple Quarter LLP)
The transformation of a huge industrial area near Temple Meads station into a new home for thousands of people takes another step forward today, with those behind the project starting to ask the people of Bristol what they think it should look like.
The ‘Masterplan’ for the St Philips area of the city will see as many as 10,000 new homes built on a huge area of the city stretching from Temple Way to Avonmeads Retail Park, along with areas of ‘intensified industrial’, and ‘innovation and knowledge’ mapped out already.
It will be called ‘Temple Quarter’, and from today a consultation process has begun which is initially asking people to assess three different options for the way the area will be developed.
The first option is for the Feeder Canal to be the focus of the redevelopment and include what will effectively be a local town centre for the new community.
The second will see Albert Road – the ‘ring road’ for the existing industrial estate that runs along the north side of the River Avon to the south of St Philips – be that focus and main ‘High Street’.
The third ‘scenario’ being consulted on is the creation of a ‘green loop’ – effectively a circular park that runs from the Feeder Canal, down Albert Crescent, along Albert Road and back up to the Feeder.
A Temple Quarter spokesperson said: “The key ideas being suggested include the pedestrianisation of roads within St Philip’s Marsh to make space for new local centres or high streets, 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.
“[This will enable] convenient access for businesses, a significant increase in green space, with different scenarios including a new central park or a range of smaller, connected green spaces and the introduction of public transport routes into the marsh, tackling a long-standing issue with access for communities and employees.”
The masterplan for the Temple Quarter regeneration area is being consulted on from Monday, June 23, 2025(Image: Temple Quarter)
“There is also the idea to divide 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,” he added.
The Masterplan will also set out the different zones being imagined for St Philips, although the developers of several of the sites are already one or more steps ahead of Bristol City Council and the Temple Quarter regeneration project – many of the sites along the Feeder and along Albert Road have already been given planning permission for new student flats and a new school, as well as parts of Bristol University’s new Temple Quarter campus.
The challenge for those behind the Temple Quarter project is to consult with local residents over an area where few people live. Most of the firms that currently fill St Philips will have to leave, although around a quarter of the land is still allocated for ‘industrial’.
The masterplan for the Temple Quarter regeneration area is being consulted on from Monday, June 23, 2025(Image: Temple Quarter)
A community hub has been set up and opens today (Monday, June 23) and a series of community events are planned in and around St Philips – from Totterdown and Bedminster to Brislington and Easton in July.
Two community events are taking place at Screenology in Silverthorne Lane on Tuesday, July 8 between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, with a second the following Tuesday, July 15, at Easton Community Centre between 2pm and 5pm.
There will also be a series of ‘pop up drop-in’ sessions for people to find out more and have their say on the three ‘scenarios’.
The first is on Wednesday, July 2 at Tesco in Totterdown. The second is at Bedminster Asda on Wednesday July 9, the third is at Sainsbury’s off St Philips Causeway in Brislington on Monday, July 14 and the final one is in Dings Park, off Oxford Street in The Dings, on Wednesday, July 23.
All four are between 3.30pm and 6.30pm. The permanent community hub that opens today is at Temple Gate and will be open from 10am to 3pm for people to call in and find out more, every Monday throughout July.