Plans for 100 new flats, a new shop, cafe, bar, restaurants and two hotels have been unveiled by developers for an empty site next to Temple Meads station.
Only 20 of the 100 new homes will be classed as ‘affordable’ - the rest will be up for rent on the open market - despite the land being owned by the taxpayer through the Government’s Homes England land and development agency.
The land, between Temple Meads station and Temple Quay, has been empty for years, and the new plan replaces a previous scheme - for a convention centre with 200 car parking spaces - that never happened.
Read more: £95million for Temple Quarter finally handed over to kickstart regeneration project
Now, London developers Marick Real Estate have put forward plans for three new buildings on the site, and have given people a week to provide feedback to their plans before they put in a planning application to Bristol City Council.
Marick said the three buildings will be built around what will become an ‘attractive, landscaped garden open to everyone’. One building would be a 232-room four-star hotel, the other a 168-room aparthotel - both of those buildings would be eight storeys high, and the third - next to the Floating Harbour - would see around 100 new homes in a build-to-rent, 11-storey block of flats, all with private balconies.
Of those new flats, 20 per cent would be classed as ‘affordable’, with rents set at the Local Housing Allowance rates. The figure of 20 per cent is the minimum requirement for a city centre site set by Bristol City Council. The council’s policy is, nomimally, for city centre sites to have 40 per cent affordable housing, but four years ago, the council cut that to 20 per cent for developers who built the homes more quickly, to encourage new development in Bristol.
It has been five years since Marick began discussions with Bristol City Council to develop the plot of land directly to the north of Temple Meads station that was leftover from the development of Temple Quay in the 2000s.
Originally, Marick’s plan was to build a 1,000-capacity convention centre and hotel, with a 200-space underground car park. That never happened - it never made it to a planning application, as a conference centre replaced the planned arena on the other side of Temple Meads station.
A spokesperson for Marick Real Estate said: “Whilst early-stage discussions were held with the council, the proposal was never submitted as a planning application. The need for the convention centre shifted, and the market for hotel management operators at the time also changed as COVID struck.
“So, Marick totally revisited the approach and feel its new proposal is much better aligned with the city’s needs and aspirations, not least having zero car parking, instead of 200 spaces, and adding approximately 100 sustainable homes, including 20 per cent affordable, instead of none.
“Rather than one single building covering the whole site, the new scheme opens the site up with a green space now positioned between the three separate buildings,” he added.
“At ground floor there would be space for a new café, bar and shop, helping create active street frontages. The Maldron hotel would also have a first floor restaurant open to everyone, complementing the existing local bars and restaurants on offer,” he added.
“The highly sustainable development would be car-free, and would bring significant new green, open space into the heart of Temple Quarter. It would also provide a new pedestrian access onto the waterside walkway,” he said.
“There would be a meandering route through this green oasis, with seating and areas to relax and socialise, as well as a children’s play area. This space would be for pedestrian use only, with alternative routes for cycles and e-scooters around the site, to create a safe space.
“The scheme aligns with the Temple Quarter Framework, which sets key principles including height and massing. The buildings have been carefully designed so they cannot be seen from Station Approach which leads up to the front of Temple Meads – this was a key requirement to protect one of Bristol’s most important heritage assets,” he added.
Homes England have a previous record of failing to include many affordable homes on land they own or control. In 2017, Mayor Marvin Rees and then housing chief Cllr Paul Smith persuaded Homes England and its chosen developers to include 100 new homes on the site of the redeveloped Blackberry Hill Hospital in Fishponds, and when work began on the scheme in September 2018, the Mayor publicly warned developers that not including enough affordable homes would mean the council would be reluctant to work with them.
After that, the council cut the required percentage of affordable homes, from 40 per cent to 20 per cent in the city centre, on condition that the developers have a smaller timescale to get the homes built.
Earlier this year, new housing chief Cllr Tom Renhard told Bristol Live he had little power to get private developers to build affordable homes, especially in the city centre, because planning law set by central Government was stacked so heavily in developers’ favour. Homes England is a publicly-owned Government land and development agency. They owned, or controlled, much of the land on which the Castle Park View development is now nearing completion in the city centre - with only 20 per cent affordable homes given permission by the city council.
Read next:
Council chief admits he has 'very little power' to make developers build affordable homes
How affordable are the 'record levels of affordable housing' being built in Bristol
Mayor defends affordable housing numbers at Castle Park View
Developers 'have to deliver' affordable housing for Bristol says Mayor
New plans for 350 homes in centre of Bristol - but only 20 per cent 'affordable'
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