DEVELOPER UNVEILS PROPOSALS FOR ST MARY-LE-PORT
Published on 13 October 2006 by
The historic heart of Bristol city centre could become once again one of the city's most important places to live, work and shop, in new proposals for the regeneration of St Mary-le-Port unveiled by local developers Deeley Freed.
The proposals favoured by Deeley Freed would see the creation of a new South West food quarter complemented by new homes, offices and public spaces and would also deliver major improvements to Castle Park. The development would help knit Broadmead, the old city and Redcliffe back together, providing an attractive focus for the area, drawing people from across the city to St Mary-le-Port.
This is one of four approaches to the masterplanning of the St Mary-le-Port site being presented by Deeley Freed to the public at an exhibition in the ruins of St Peters Church from Saturday 14th to Friday 20th October. The different ideas on show reflect the range of views from the first phase of consultation, from a redevelopment of just the existing redundant office buildings, which offers minimum benefits for the city and Castle Park, to the proposal preferred by the developers and Council.
The preferred option would provide a new shopping area – believed to be one of the first of its kind in the UK. This would provide a permanent, vibrant marketplace for regionally produced food and drink in a new green public square surrounding the ruins of St Mary-le-Port church. It would re-establish the market tradition which made the area the hub of the city for more than a thousand years and complement St Nicholas Market and the nearby Farmers’, Slow Food and Fresh markets.
Offering subsidised rents to attract local independent producers it would provide a sustainable alternative to buying food from supermarkets and the idea has already received the backing of leading food experts such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Barny Haughton, Stephen Markwick and Andrew Moore of Somerset Food Links.
The food quarter would be complemented with cafes and restaurants, new homes, including affordable housing, and offices which would be built to achieve the highest environmental ratings. The developers are looking at innovative ideas to create ‘green’ buildings, such as ‘living’ roofs and using water from the docks to cool the buildings.
In addition to the honeypot effect of the development itself, the preferred proposal would also create new and improved pedestrian and cycle routes to link it to surrounding areas. The medieval St Mary-le-Port street would be recreated, linking St Nicholas Market via the ruins of St Mary-le-Port to St Peters Church. A new route would also be introduced connecting Broadmead and Redcliffe from Union Street via the new footbridge planned across the river from Castle Park to the redeveloped former Courage Brewery site.
One of the most important potential benefits of the development would be major improvements to Castle Park, much of which is underused and suffers from social problems, partly due to its poor layout and lack of facilities. The regeneration of St Mary-le-Port could release a package of improvements worth £2 million from the developers which would deliver much of Bristol City Council’s Castle Park Improvement Plan.
The comprehensive improvements would include recreating the line of the historic Castle Street as a pedestrian and cycle route; providing large south-facing grassed sitting areas overlooking the floating harbour; new seating, lighting and planting throughout; creating a new exhibition area for outdoor events; and introducing a children’s play trail around the park. A ‘transition’ zone connecting the park to the new development around St Peters Church would create St Peters Square, a major new public space, as well as new gardens and sitting areas which border the road, together with stepped green sitting steps to the south, again with views over the water.
David Freed, director of developers Deeley Freed says: “The regeneration of St Mary-le-Port provides a unique opportunity to create a new heart for the historic centre of Bristol. We are proposing a development that builds on the city’s growing reputation as Britain’s capital of food and delivers a vibrant mix of homes, shops, cafes and offices which act as a real magnet for people living and working in the area. It will help knit the area back into the city and fund major improvements to the park which will become a place far more people can use and enjoy.
“We are very excited about these proposals and hope that people will take time to consider the potential a development like this can offer the city when they visit the exhibition.”
Councillor Anne White, Bristol City Council’s Executive Member for Capital Projects and Regeneration, said: “The proposals being presented by Deeley Freed offer exciting plans for St Mary-le-Port, giving us a real opportunity to transform this area at the heart of our city. It is vitally important that development is well thought through and responds to the views of people who live and work in the area. We also need to make sure that we consider the development in a rounded way, taking into account the affect on Castle Park and the wider area. I hope people will use this opportunity to put forward their views and help shape the future of the site.”
The opening times for the public exhibition for St Mary-le-Port are Saturday & Sunday 11am-5pm, Monday-Wednesday and Friday 10am-6pm, Thursday 10am-7pm. As part of the exhibition there will be two ‘meet the team’ sessions on Thursday 19 October between 12.30–2pm and again from 5-7pm when visitors can talk to representatives from Deeley Freed, their project team and Bristol City Council about the proposals.
For further information, please contact Caroline Harris, CHPR, PR consultants to Deeley Freed Estates (0117) 944 1415 or email info@chpr.co.uk