On 6th March, the City and County Councils launched a masterplan for the Quayside & Blackfriars area designed to bring about the regeneration of this huge swathe of city centre land.

Bordered by the Quay, Commercial Road, Ladybellegate Street and Longsmith Street/Quay Street, this land has been largely derelict for decades. Previous attempts to regenerate it have been well-intentioned but poorly-executed. It is an important site because it links up the Docks, the Cathedral and the River Severn.

The City Council now owns the sunken Barbican car park next to the Prison and the County Council is soon to vacate the life-expired Quayside House on the Quay, opening up an exciting development opportunity.

Supporting daytime and evening economies
In February, the councils, through the Local Enterprise Partnership, were awarded £4.1 million of Government Growth Deal funding to bring this site forward – to deal with issues like archaeology and demolish some of the more recent, less important buildings on site.

Another positive piece of news is the sale of the former prison site to City & Country – a specialist in developing heritage buildings. They come with a great pedigree and are keen to work with us, to consult the local community and to proceed quickly with a development.

The masterplan sets out a residential-led development, which is deliverable – much better than coming up with a scheme that will never happen – and which will mean more people living in the city centre, supporting the daytime and evening economies and taking the pressure off greenfield sites.

Getting this right will be time well spent
But it isn’t just about housing. Important though it is, it is about active uses and attractive routes, linking up the key assets in the area like the waterfront, Blackfriars Priory, the Prison site, the Fleece Hotel and, of course, the Cathedral and the Docks.

It will take two or three years of hard work before you see major activity on site but, for a site where regeneration has eluded the city for decades, getting this right will be time well-spent. The difference that a transformation of this site will make to the city centre should not be under-estimated.