Two of Gloucester’s most long-awaited developments are now on site. Bakers Quay, the long-time derelict area alongside the canal next to Gloucester Quays, which has been subject to more than one arson attack in recent years, is the first one.

It was home to West Midlands Farmers, but in recent years has been owned by a local family. Various attempts to acquire the site for development came to nothing, until last year when Rokeby Developments, aided by the City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency, bought the land and secured planning approval. Now contractors are on site in preparation for phase one of the development, which is a Premier Inn hotel, Brewers Fayre restaurant, Drive Thru Costa Coffee and an apartment building to replace fire-damaged Provender Mill.

95 new affordable homes including shared equity properties
The second of the two sites is the former Kwik Save supermarket, which faces onto Northgate Street but wraps around Black Dog Way and Worcester Street. Kwik Save closed 15 years or so ago and the site has been deteriorating ever since. A local housebuilder bought the site at the top of the market and has struggled to get a commercially viable scheme following the crash of 2008. The solution came from Rooftop Housing, again with assistance from the City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency, who are demolishing existing buildings before moving ahead with construction of 95 new affordable homes, including shared equity properties.

There are several lessons to learn from this. Firstly, don’t give up! As John Whittaker, the billionaire chairman of the Peel Group, says, it takes DPP – determination, persistence and patience. The second lesson is that, in Gloucester, we can find solutions to these difficult sites. We’ve done it before with the Golden Egg, the bus station and the Railway Triangle when people told us “it’s never going to happen!” And thirdly, support from public bodies can, in some cases, be crucial.

In a few months’ time another of our problem sites, the Barbican car park at Blackfriars, will also start to see some action. This really is the year when it all starts to come together!