A controversial deal that will see offices, a hotel, conference centre and hundreds of homes built at Temple Island has been completed. Bristol City Council has finalised agreements with Legal & General, and the massive redevelopment on land formerly earmarked for an arena can go ahead.
L&G has agreed to invest £350million to transform the disused site near Temple Meads by building two “major Grade A” office blocks, 550 apartments and a 345-room hotel and conference centre. In return the local authority will spend £32million getting the derelict plot ready, including sorting contamination issues, before leasing Temple Island to the asset management firm for 250 years.
The council will also guarantee L&G rent on the office space for 40 years, an offer deemed “necessary” by mayor Marvin Rees to secure the investment. A notice published this month on the authority’s website said executive director of growth and regeneration Stephen Peacock had now made the final decision to “enter into conditional disposal” of the land to L&G on a long lease.
