Business owners based in the "damp" Victorian railway arches behind Temple Meads station have said they fear being priced out after the company that owns them more than doubled the rent.
The landlords said that the area in The Dings is changing rapidly, with blocks of upmarket flats being built nearby and the location being at the heart of the Temple Quarter regeneration space. But what that means for the businesses who have been there for years appears to be paying a massive rent hike or facing the task of finding somewhere else to go.
The owner of the Cycle Shack, Steve Farrell, said he has been renting an arch under the main railway line in to Temple Meads for years, and the rent had been increasing by three per cent every year, according to his lease. But last month, he was shocked to receive a letter informing him that his annual rent of £12,247 would be increasing to a proposed £28,400 - and neighbouring businesses had received similar letters.
