Bristol: former Royal Mail sorting office building eventually chosen as new University city campus

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Competing bids to build an indoor 15,000 seater music and sport arena in Bristol have been unveiled.

The plans, put together by rival developers, comprise building it close to Temple Meads railway station or near Bristol City's proposed new stadium.

The council says by having the arena and football ground in the same place, transport plans could be shared.

But architect George Ferguson - backing the Temple Meads plan - said the Ashton Vale site would be too car-dependent.

Councillor Simon Cook, deputy leader of Bristol City Council, said having the venue next to the football ground made sense. "It would be very compatible because it can use the same infrastructure, the same transport plan - the bus rapid transit is going around the stadium with a commuter line straight into the city," he said. "Everything is there for the arena to make sense."

But Mr Ferguson disagreed and said an arena that depends on thousands of customers driving to it would be a "dinosaur model". "To a certain extent that would be the model of one set next to the A370," he said. His plan involves land close to Bristol Temple Meads train station, which is close to where similar plans fell through several years ago. Mr Ferguson said this venue would be a bigger development of land around the station, which includes the old Royal Mail Depot.

Bristol City FC^‡(resolve), who have hosted music concerts at Ashton Gate, have not commented on the idea of the arena alongside their proposed new ground at Ashton Vale.

Currently, the city's biggest music venue is the Colston Hall, which can hold about 2,000 people.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Evening Post:

It's an eyesore building which passengers arriving at Bristol Temple Meads railway station have been greeted with for the past 12 years.

Now councillors and an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) have called for action to be taken over the derelict former Royal Mail sorting office in Cattle Market Road.

The prominent building has been empty since Royal Mail vacated it and moved to Filton in 1997, and remains undeveloped despite planning permission being granted in 2005 to turn it into flats, workspaces and offices.

Over the years, the building has fallen into despair, attracted vandals and drug addicts and even became the scene of a serious accident in 2005, when Bedminster teenager Daniel Jones fell 20ft through a glass roof while playing in the building.

Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy and city councillors for the Lawrence Hill ward, Susan O'Donnell and Brenda Hugill, say the Seventies building has now been left to rot for too long.

It is understood archaeological digs and clearance work has taken place on the site in recent years, but demolition has not begun.

Labour MP Ms McCarthy said: "It's an eyesore and doesn't create a very good impression of Bristol when you arrive on the train. It's prime land and should be used for something. It's completely going to waste. Should we talk about a compulsory purchase?"

She added: "It would make a big difference to Cattle Market Road if it were developed. There's a derelict pub there and it's become a dingy back street along the Feeder, when it could be a lovely part of the city."

Councillor Hugill said: "It's always sad when buildings are left empty and become eyesores. When developers get planning permission, they should act on it and not leave it hanging, which makes the city look poorer. The developers should have a sense of pride about the city they are developing."

Councillor O'Donnell said: "It's annoying a prime site like that is being left undeveloped. I understand it's difficult to get resources for developments at the moment because of the recession, but there have been plenty of opportunities historically to get this turned into something useful and attractive."

Shepherdess Holdings' sister company Media Office bought the site for ^2 million in 2000. It outbid the South West Regional Development Agency, which wanted the site for the doomed Bristol Arena project.

Media Office won planning permission to convert the site into 107 flats, seven studio workspaces, walkways and offices in 2005.

According to the Land Registry, the site is now owned by Kian Gwan Land Limited, which bought it for ^5.3 million in May last year. KGLL was unavailable for comment.

Kate Hartas, spokeswoman for the city council, said it had this month agreed to sell off a small piece of land it owned in front of the former sorting office to the developer.

[inspector_blakey]

I suspect I'm in a minority of one, but I actually quite like the old sorting office when it's lit up in the dark - there's something atmospheric and slightly creepy about it that appeals to me in a perverse sort of way.

[Phil]

Funnily enough I was going to say the same thing, Blakey. I like it too.

[signalandtelegraph]

Can we get rid of the post bag conveyor system at the east end of Temple Meads too?  Would make that end of the station a lot lighter/brighter.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Evening Post:

Mike Ford: Bristol eyesore is a nightmare of concrete and broken economy

More than three million passengers arrive into Bristol Temple Meads every year, and what view awaits them when pulling into one of the grandest stations in the whole of Europe?

The old Royal Mail building which stands there looming on the horizon like a haunted house in Chernobyl, a nightmare of concrete and broken economy.

With this in mind, it was pleasing to hear that councillors were calling to knock it down last week, until we actually heard what they were saying.

Instead of setting into motion some action, the councillors were doing what they do best.

Procrastinating and talking of how it was "annoying" no one has taken the initiative to turn it "into something useful and attractive."

Initiative? Isn't it the job of the council to get things moving? Who are they relying on to do their job for them? It is a no-brainer for them to at least knock it down, thus attracting developers to the site.

As many people have stated, it's an area that benefits from great transport links, a central location, and, of course, is on the riverside. But as usual, our council needs an electric shock from a cattle prod to prompt them into action.

Perhaps they should look at the dramatic change one can see when travelling into Bristol by coach these days.

What a transformation from the previously dull mile of shame that was the bottom of the M32 to the bus station, the grey depression of the buildings making you feel as if the coach were taking you to the Gulag.

I don't understand how some parts of our city are so great, and others are left to rot due to council laziness and inaction.

Case in point: our local rail network. The council's arrogant and frankly berserk decision to constantly overlook the fact that we have a complete local rail infrastructure already in place to run cheap and regular local trains quite frankly astonishes me. These lines can service everywhere locally from Severn Beach to Keynsham, and are ready to be used tomorrow with a little station renovation.

If only the council would listen to great people like those of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)) group, who are still pushing for local rail services to be restored to over 15 stations, as well as the increase of services to the existing, barely-used, crumbling stations that First "Great" Western put out as a token gesture. We have watched our council be pushed around by First while they destroyed our bus routes, and within a few years what little rail service we have will be gone too.

The council evidently needs its hands to be held at every stage. A cleaner, more efficient (and cooler) transport system is sitting on our doorstep begging to be used. Get behind FOSBR and berate the council into action. Either that, or buy a cattle prod. It's cathartic.

[devon_metro]

For those who don't know what it looks like:

[Phil]

It's less of an eyesore than what faces you when you walk out of Reading station, particularly if you toddle along to the bus interchange on the right. It's bleak, daunting and quite frankly disgraceful. The other day when I was there the Irish pub was blaring excessively loud "music" out across the pavement as well - at 11 in the morning!

[Mookiemoo]

Or Cardiff

Or New Street

or a great many other major stations

[Tim]

I have seldom seen a building so comprehensively vandalised.  Not just a bit of graffiti and a few broken windows it is systematic dismantlement! It the scrotes continue the building will not need demolising.

I wonder if the railway should take the initiative in redeveloping the site.  There would be space for another platform or two to ease capacity and how about an entrance on that side of the station?

I know it is all about money but I'd hate to see a rush to develop the site resulting in something being put up that permanantly boxes the railway in and makes future expansion (or other transport initiatives such as trams, buses or even just a bigger station car park) difficult.   At a minimum the overhead convoyors could be removed to open up the platforms.  That would help to dissociate the railway from the sorting office.

The front of BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) could do with some TLC^▸ (three letter code ) as well.  there is still the derilict pub and bridge mess on the roundabout at the bottom of the ramp where there used to be a railway overbridge taking the line down to the harbour railway (I assume). 

Why are so many station in run-down parts of cities?

[Mookiemoo]

I have seldom seen a building so comprehensively vandalised.  Not just a bit of graffiti and a few broken windows it is systematic dismantlement! It the scrotes continue the building will not need demolising.

I wonder if the railway should take the initiative in redeveloping the site.  There would be space for another platform or two to ease capacity and how about an entrance on that side of the station?

I know it is all about money but I'd hate to see a rush to develop the site resulting in something being put up that permanantly boxes the railway in and makes future expansion (or other transport initiatives such as trams, buses or even just a bigger station car park) difficult.   At a minimum the overhead convoyors could be removed to open up the platforms.  That would help to dissociate the railway from the sorting office.

The front of BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) could do with some TLC^▸ (three letter code ) as well.  there is still the derilict pub and bridge mess on the roundabout at the bottom of the ramp where there used to be a railway overbridge taking the line down to the harbour railway (I assume). 

Why are so many station in run-down parts of cities?

Because people used to live in cities and generally did not want to be near a railway

[IndustryInsider]

It's less of an eyesore than what faces you when you walk out of Reading station...

Or Cardiff

Or New Street

or a great many other major stations

I really can't see any merit in what you're both trying to say there. Sure, Reading isn't exactly an architects dream, and nor is Cardiff or Birmingham, but to suggest they're worse than the pile of rubble that you see from a train at Temple Meads is mad - just take a look at the picture again! And bear in mind that it looks just as bad (if not worse) from further down the platform looking the other way!

[super tm]

I think the problem is it is a listed building can you believe it !!!!

[Tim]

Because people used to live in cities and generally did not want to be near a railway

madness - people ought to be prepared to pay more to live near a station.  I would (and have when in London)

[basset44]

Why cant they be more progressive in this Country and build something new at Bristol, Reading or wherever like

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

http://www.hbf-berlin.de/site/berlin__hauptbahnhof/en/start.html