Whenever a new development in the city is unveiled, some people say, “It’ll never happen.” It’s perhaps not surprising when promised regeneration plans for the city in the past, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s, weren’t delivered. It is a fact of life that not every artist’s impression makes it into reality and sometimes things take longer than we hope or expect.

I remember when people said we wouldn’t be able to rid the city of the infamous Golden Egg in Kings Square, but we did. Some people claimed we would never raise the money to build a new bus station, but it’s now on site and will be finished next year as the first phase of the Kings Quarter development. Others said we would be stuck with the dereliction of the Railway Triangle forever. The first phase is now complete and phase two of more employment uses is now underway.

Several long-term vacant sites will be brought back into use
Derelict for almost as long is Bakers Quay, next to the canal. Previous attempts to regenerate the site have failed, but the land has now been bought and planning permission obtained, with a start on site due in summer.

Some people said Gloucester Quays wouldn’t happen and, when it did, claimed it would be a white elephant or would destroy the city centre. Its visitor numbers have risen from 2 million a year to over 5 million. While the city centre still has its challenges, the evidence is that the Quays brings people to Gloucester.

Several other long-term vacant sites are about to be brought back into use – the ex-M&S store in Northgate Street where TK Maxx was will open this year; the former Jumpin’ Jaks in Brunswick Road, which will re-open as a club; and the old Kwik Save site in Northgate Street will be developed for housing. Progress is also being made with bringing Gloucester City Football Club back to play at its Meadow Park stadium. The Cathedral and Llanthony Priory have both been successful in their Heritage Lottery Fund bids, totalling over £7 million.

There’s still a lot to do, but hopefully with progress like this even the harshest of critics will start to believe.