Public quizzed on St Philip's Marsh regeneration plan
Almost half of survey respondents say Feeder Road should be pedestrianised
Members of the public have backed plans to pedestrianise a main road east of Temple Meads as part of a wider regeneration of the area. Almost half of survey respondents said Feeder Road should be pedestrianised and a new local centre built along the Feeder Canal.
Over the next few years St Philip’s Marsh, the island east of Temple Meads train station, will transform from an industrial site to one with hundreds of homes. The Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration will focus on the area, as well as the more immediate land around the station.
The Temple Quarter team consulted the public in June and July on the regeneration of St Philip’s Marsh. This looked at possible transport routes, and where local centres, open space and pedestrianised roads should be located. An update on the feedback was given to councillors on the economy and skills policy committee on Monday, November 3.
Karen Mercer, chief executive of Bristol Temple Quarter LLP, said: “We’ve now received feedback and we’re looking at developing a masterplan which will come forward for consultation in the early part of next year. We’re engaging across Bristol City Council, the West of England Combined Authority and communities and businesses in shaping that.”
St Philip’s Marsh is home to Motion’s new site, as well as the Prospect music venue and the RS Studios rehearsal rooms. The area also includes Avonmeads Shopping Park, Wake the Tiger, car showrooms, a railway depot, Bristol Waste’s recycling plant, and the Bristol Fruit Market. Feeder Road is a key route leading to east Bristol, but has a narrow pavement and no bike path.
A quarter of people who said the Feeder should become a new local centre did so because of the waterfront appeal of the canal. On the other side of St Philip’s Marsh is the River Avon, but due to its tidal nature is mostly mud for half the day.
Options which were less popular include creating a new centre on a pedestrianised Albert Road or Albert Crescent. Results on where outdoor spaces should be created were inconclusive, with slightly more people preferring an “ecological corridor” along the Avon rather than a green loop around the area or a large park in the middle.
Concerns which surfaced in the survey were how existing businesses could access the area after the regeneration and whether a community could be established with so many student flats. Despite the feedback, it’s unclear if the Feeder will get pedestrianised in the upcoming masterplan. Last summer’s consultation was just to “get a gist” of what the public wants.
Green Councillor Jenny Bartle said: “It was interesting seeing the feedback where so much focus was on centring everything on Feeder Road. Maybe that’s because that’s the bit where everyone knows it more.
“There’s quite a high disincentive to recommending the bit next to the waste depot, because when I’m on a tour, I’m like, I don’t want anything to be here, I want to leave immediately because it’s very smelly.
“We need to acknowledge that there’s a potential bias in the feedback we got and not allow that to bias us or restrain us too much. The purpose of the first stage was to get a gist, a direction, rather than anything too specific.”