Busy pedestrian area in Bristol City Centre to be redesigned
Sunken fountains will be removed from the Promenade outside the Hippodrome and more pedestrian space created
Bristol City Council is revealing plans to transform one of the busiest pedestrian areas of the city centre.
The Centre Promenade, which is the area outside the Hippodrome theatre between St Augustine's Parade and Broad Quay, currently features a large area of sunken fountains, several large trees in raised planters and, on certain days of the week, a harbour market.
The three sunken fountains, which are broken and beyond repair, will be filled in and the old wooden decking removed so the whole area can be covered over with the same light coloured surface. This will be decorated a large-scale 2D artwork that integrates with the area's planters and plant selection.
Platforms over three sets of steps, that run alongside Broad Quay in between the tree planters, will also be built so they can be used for extra concessions, such as street food. Five of the trees will also be replaced, as they have outgrown their planters.
The council says the changes will allow more spaces for pedestrians and the market, with work due to start around January 2025.
Councillor Andrew Brown, Chair of the Economy and Skills Committee, said: “This is a busy area in the city and one that has many uses, from the food stalls and events through to thousands of passing pedestrians and cyclists.
“While the fountains were a good idea in principle, they reduce the available space and have not worked properly for many years because of limited water storage capacity underground.
“By creating a flat surface across this whole area, we can give more room for events and people travelling through The Centre, which will make the area work better and take much of the pressure off all these competing needs.”
The London plane trees, which have become too big will be removed and replaced with smaller blossoming trees called Cercis siliquastrum. The council says it needs doing as the trees are beginning to push out of their planters and would likely become unstable if they weren't removed.
Councillor Brown continued: “When next visiting the centre, I’d encourage you to take a closer look at the five raised planters that run alongside Broad Quay. You will see that the roots of the trees are pushing the limestone cladding off the planters as they have outgrown the contained space. They will only grow larger and could become unstable, which would be dangerous for people in the area if we do nothing.
“It’s not been an easy decision to make as we always aim to save healthy trees if we can. Working with arboricultural specialists, we have looked at other options, such as building larger planters or cutting back the root systems and the crown of the trees. However, both these options do not deal with the problem of the shallow planters in the long-term and could also lead to the trees becoming unstable."
The trees are so large we understand they cannot be replanted elsewhere, so will be felled in sections.
“As a council, we are committed to increasing the number of trees in Bristol with 100,000 trees planted since 2015 as part of the One Tree Per Child and Trees for Streets programmes," councillor Brown said.
The felled trees will be processed into woodchip and used to fuel bio-mass boilers in various buildings, including some public buildings like schools and leisure centres. The woodchip will also be used to mulch around the base of next year’s newly planted trees to suppress weeds and help the soil to retain moisture.
During the work, which is expected to take three months, the middle of the promenade area will be fenced off and the harbour market will not be able to go ahead in its usual location. Alternatives are currently being looked at.
The cycle path to the side of the promenade will remain open.
“We are really grateful to everyone for bearing with us while we carry out these works that will make The Centre more spacious, vibrant and safer for everyone,” councillor Brown said.
Longer term, the council is also considering redesigning the cycle path to make it more visible.
The work is expected to cost around £365,000.
You can find out more about the planned work on the council's website here.