Bristol news of the week: Temple Quarter Partnership and student housing
The big Bristol story in the news last week was the signing of the Bristol Temple Quarter LLP on March 25, 2024.
Some were simply publication of the Homes England press release, either in part or the more extended version:
The Bristol Temple Quarter Limited Liability Partnership (BTQLLP) was incorporated on 25 March 2024
United Kingdom : Bristol Temple Quarter Limited Liability Partnership incorporatedThis move formalises the longstanding collaborative approach taken by partners: Bristol City Council, Homes England, Network Rail, and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. Operating as a joint venture, BTQLLP will include each partner as a member.
There will be homes and jobs galore, apparently, in two phases to the project, and the press release focuses on the end product of both:
“Bristols biggest ever regeneration project will deliver up to 10,000 homes and 22,000 jobs.” Eventually.
The Mena Report points out the projected end results of the first phase, ending in 2032: The first phase will aim to deliver “approximately 2,500 new homes by 2032 and support around 2,200 jobs.”
Most articles cite Stephen Peacock as speaking for Bristol but one mentions Marvin Rees, the Bristol mayor.
He says:
“This announcement is extremely welcome and is the result of a productive partnership between Bristol City Council, the West of England Combined Authority, Network Rail and Homes England that first met in 2017 to plan for the successful regeneration at the heart of the city region.”
The meetings the mayor is referring to are of the Temple Quarter Strategic Board.
In December 2017, when the mayor had just come back from a YTL-funded trip to KL, Malaysia, the arena was still part of the plans.
By July 2018, Rees was telling them that the university campus had been “a game changer”.
At this point, the Temple Island arena was still council policy. It wouldn’t be cancelled until September 2018 but change was in the air.
In 2019, the board were discussing a housing infrastructure fund (HIF) bid for 17,700 homes and associated benefits; “the HIF Bid is for £280m, with entire corridor budget of £525m.”
These figures in housing have now been reduced. Instead, there is an additional focus and it’s inspired by the game-changing university.
Student Housing
In December 2023, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developer and manager Unite Students signed a building contract to deliver a 596-bed scheme at Marsh Mills, Temple Quarter.
Unite Students signs contract to build a £75m, 600-bed PBSA scheme in Bristol
Also, following full planning consent for the Freestone Island development in the previous week, Unite Living will acquire the land for a second student accommodation development.
The £73m scheme is set to be ready in time for the 2026/27 academic year.
Student Housing not only at Temple Quarter
Further Student Housing was announced at St James Square:
Olympian Homes and Whitbread have appointed JLL to find a funding partner for a major student-led development within Bristol's £700m St James Square regeneration scheme.
“Proposals for St James House, which have planning approval, comprise two towers: one of 28 storeys containing 442 student beds, and the other rising to 18 storeys and containing 132 co-living homes. Twenty per cent of the co-living units will be affordable.
The scheme for St James was approved by Bristol City Council in February, and it will replace the 1970s-built Premier Inn at Bristol's Haymarket. It has been designed by Hodder + Partners and will also include around 200,000 sq ft of public space” (Source: Estates Gazette, EGi Web News).
Bye bye, Bristol arena. Hello, student housing.