Blog
Welcome to the GHURC blog. We'll use this to keep you up to date with the latest news and progress on our key projects. We welcome your comments and feedback£10 million very welcome
The news that SWRDA has allocated up to £10 million over the next two years to continue Gloucester’s regeneration is very welcome.
Like everywhere else, Gloucester City Centre is experiencing the effects of the recession and the news that we can now progress the vital economic linkages from Gloucester Quays into the City Centre will be a huge boost for retailers.
Since Gloucester Quays opened on 21 May, it is evident that many people are pouring into Gloucester but to make sure they return to experience the city centre’s many attractions, well-signposted, well-designed pedestrian access is essential. This linkage route will cost in the region of £7 million and takes up a large proportion of the £10 million which has been allocated.
The rest of the allocation will enable GHURC to drive forward the regeneration of King’s Quarter and Blackfriars.
The £10 million funding from SWRDA does enable the most critical projects to go ahead immediately, paving the way for further private sector funding when the market recovers.
A challenging year
As ever, some info about the date and location of the next GHURC AGM, which must be in the offing, would be appreciated.
If you'd like someone with an internet connection to act as a kind of press officer for things like this, talk to me...
A challenging year
2009 will be a challenging year for everyone, and whilst Gloucester cannot be immune from the downturn, the commitment of the GHURC, working together with its partners the South West Regional Development Agency, the Homes and Communities Agency and the County and City Councils to continue driving the regeneration forward means that there are already significant new employment opportunities being created to fill the gap left by the sad closure of some traditional retailers.
This year will see a number of milestones in the City’s regeneration including:
•The opening of the new Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre
•The opening of new Sainsburys superstore on Hempsted Lane
•The opening of a new Travelodge Hotel
•The completion of a new pedestrian route from Gloucester Quays into the City Centre
•Completion of refurbishment works to the North and East ranges at Blackfriars.
With Ecclesiastical Insurance also committing to building its new headquarters at Gloucester Docks, it is important to remember that such successful and established businesses would not be investing such significant sums into Gloucester if they did not have confidence in its long term future.
Our city’s impressive heritage and architecture is one of the reasons that we have attracted significant investment, as developers understand the value of building within an historic environment.
To make the City’s heritage even more accessible, this year we planning an exciting programme of local discovery and detection and will be inviting local people, school children and students to discover the city’s heritage from a series of archaeological digs, public talks and exhibitions. More details on this project will be announced within the next few weeks.
December
On 18 November children from St Paul’s Church of England Primary School were the first members of the public to cross High Orchard Bridge, linking up St Ann Way with Hempsted Lane.
The achievement of such a major piece of infrastructure in Gloucester should not be underestimated: The new crossing opens up parts of the city that had been previously difficult to reach when it was a major commercial Docks area and not open to local people. High Orchard Bridge also improves access to the riverside area along Blackfriars, allowing the introduction of a new water improvement scheme along this road and linking Gloucester to its river for the first time in many years.
Our ambition to bring Gloucester Docks closer to the city centre will continue next year when work on the first linkage route from The Docks into the City will begin down Southgate Street and through Kimbrose Triangle. The linkage route will make the short distance from Gloucester Docks to the City Centre more pedestrian friendly and accessible.
The news that the Bishop family, who own Baker’s Quay adjacent to Gloucester Quays, have decided to put the redevelopment project on hold, whilst disappointing, is not a surprise. The regeneration of this area was always going to be a long-term project - after all it took Gloucester Quays some years to get permission to build the outlet centre. The buildings at Baker’s Quay remain a significant heritage asset to the city and are largely in sound, weather-tight condition.
The Bishop’s decision does not have any impact on the on-going development of Gloucester Quays which is progressing well. Baker’s Quay still represents a great opportunity to exploit Gloucester’s waterside heritage and we will work with the owners to make the most of the site’s potential.
Despite everything that is happening in the national economy, Gloucester’s regeneration is continuing. By this time next year, with 100 new shops in the outlet centre and the new bridge improving access and allowing thousands of new people to enjoy the City, Gloucester will look and feel very different for those of us living and working here.
Confidence in Gloucester Grows
There might be an international credit crunch, but in Gloucester we hear of number of small new businesses opening up in the City centre.
With a new men’s outfitters in College Street, Gloucestershire Pottery receiving a new lease of life as College Street Originals, four pubs reopening and even Gloucester’s first Sushi bar at the former Old Bell pub in Southgate Street there is strong evidence that the City’s regeneration is starting to encourage local people to invest their own money as they anticipate a bright future for their city.
Over the last three years, over £300 million has been invested in Gloucester, with a further £250 million committed. This money has enabled the building of the city’s new South West Bypass, a new bridge at St Ann Way which will improve access into the City centre, over 250 new homes and a new campus for Gloucestershire College, as well as providing over 300 new jobs.
Ecclesiastical Insurance’s announcement that it plans to move all its 650 staff into a new-build headquarters site at Southgate Moorings rather than relocating outside the city centre is further evidence that confidence in the city remains strong.
And with Gloucester Quays’ designer outlet centre due to open in Spring 2009 and landscaping work to reinstate King’s Square as the Jewel in the City Centre’s crown due to begin in late Spring/early summer next year, the city will look a very different place in less than a year.
Whilst few of us will be immune from the effects of the economic turmoil, there are strong signs that Gloucester is very well placed to weather the storm better than most.
Summer 2008
With the winner of our competition to transform Gloucester’s most important public space at King’s Square now confirmed, a huge step has been taken to create a stunning new backdrop for the on-going regeneration of our historic city.
Now the real work begins as, working with the architects, we refine their ideas into a design which will work best for the city. Over the next six months we will hold extensive consultations with retailers, landowners, community and other interested groups to help get the design right.
This is just the start of plans to enhance the city’s landscape. As the new Gloucester Quays designer outlet centre takes shape, we are planning a series of paths, or linkages, to improve access from the Quays into the City centre. A programme of public art along these routes will encourage visitors to and from the City Centre.
In the past, public art was what local councils used to ask artists to produce to ‘cheer up’ poorly designed municipal spaces. Not anymore. Any public art we undertake must offer a sense of identity for Gloucester. We want to put the City, its own culture and heritage, on the map.
Those regions which had the foresight to commission art such as The Angle of the North at Tyneside and the 100 bronze figures that make up another of Antony Gormley’s installations on Sefton Beach near Liverpool, are now reaping the economic benefits from tourism which have followed.
‘Another Place’ at Sefton has gained huge public support with around 600,000 visitors over 17 months generating approximately £6 million for the local economy through visitor spend.
What a difference a year makes...
Well, a year ago, the GHURC AGM, held at the end of January, was seriously underpublicised. This year, I have again seen no publicity for it. When is it to be held?
What a difference a year makes...
With contractors on site at the new Designer Outlet Centre at Gloucester Quays, plans taking shape to provide an extra 295,000 square feet of retail space at King’s Quarter and the Royal Institute of British Architects’ launching an International Design Competition for King’s Square, developers appointed to build new homes at Greyfriars and exciting proposals from LXB Properties for a new medical-based science park and conference centre at the Railway Triangle, 2007 finally saw Gloucester‘s prospects change radically for the better.
More than £190 million of private investment has now been invested into Gloucester with a further £350 million in the pipeline. We are now well on the way to our ten-year target of £1 billion.
In 2008 we will be harnessing this increasing confidence to bring forward additional investment at Greyfriars, Blackfriars, King’s Quarter and The Railway Triangle.
Following extensive reports and surveys of Blackfriars, one of the city’s most important and historic sites, a feasibility study for Greater Blackfriars is being prepared and a detailed development brief for the area will be launched to developers next Spring.
Alongside the physical regeneration of the city, GHURC is working with local business leaders and training providers to improve employment and skills opportunities for local people. A city employment plan to help deliver jobs for local people will be approved by the GHURC Board in January 2008 and we are already working to attract sufficient funding to make the ‘Canal Corridor’ a business improvement district where new and small businesses can flourish.
This is the tangible evidence for investors and the local community that the city is open for business once again.
Half a £billion invested or committed
Gloucester’s regeneration has taken massive steps forward recently with an impressive range of schemes now on site or at advanced stages of development, all delivering tangible evidence that Gloucester’s renaissance is firmly on track.
“Nearly half a £billion has been invested or committed in the URC area since 2004 and we’re confident of reaching our £1 billion investment target.
“New plans for a hotel, supermarket and designer outlet centre at Gloucester Quays, one of our flagship projects, will bring new facilities to an area of the city which has been largely overlooked for years. The commitment of Sainsbury’s to invest in Gloucester is certain to attract further investment. This supermarket also has a strong track record of local sourcing - good news for the county’s food industry.
“The iconic St Ann Way Bridge, being built out of steel and white concrete, is due to open in 2008, improving access to the City centre from the recently opened South West bypass.
“Work at Gloucester Docks continues to improve the setting for the recently refurbished Dock Warehouses and Victoria Basin. The next stage will be to create better links between Blackfriars, the City Centre and The Quays.
“The Docks also have new residential homes and with new shops opening close by, a new community is being created. Detailed negotiations with developers Crest Nicholson over the Southgate Moorings office site and Merchant’s Quay are progressing and we should have news on both before the end of the year.
“We must now harness this increasing confidence to bring forward additional investment at Greyfriars, Blackfriars, King’s Quarter and The Railway Triangle and to improve employment and training opportunities for local people so they can take advantage of the jobs being created thanks to the City’s regeneration.
“We are looking forward to the Tall Ships Festival. Running from 26 – 29 October, this will celebrate our City, its past and its future and provide a unique opportunity to showcase a confident Gloucester to the world.
Building Britain - by George Ferguson
“As Gloucester’s regeneration plans are now receiving national attention, it was great to hear that George Ferguson, a highly-respected past president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, say that he likes the ambition.
George Ferguson’s focus was that development should improve the lives of people. This is the purpose of the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company. Regeneration isn’t just about redevelopment, it’s about building a better environment for those living and working in our towns and cities. To do that you have to offer good homes, attractive public spaces and excellent amenities. Our framework Masterplan sets out how this will happen in the City and we’re well on the way to bringing them to fruition through the redevelopment of King’s Square in central Gloucester and the building of the designer outlet village at Gloucester Quays, both of which will provide new homes, attractive public spaces and much improved amenities in the City.
“The recent announcement of almost 400 new homes at Greyfriars built as part of a sustainable, new neighbourhood is also good news, giving people new opportunities to live in the city centre.
“During the programme George Ferguson compared Gloucester unfavourably with Copenhagen. Whilst both cities have extensive waterfronts, it is perhaps a little unfair to compare the capital city of Denmark, which has a population of 1.7 million with Gloucester with it’s population of 111,306, however I take his point that in Gloucester we have a golden opportunity to bring life into the Docks and surrounding areas, and after a slow start and a few wrong turns in the 1980s, this is now starting to happen, as new shops and restaurants start to open here. The Docks are still in a period of major transition, but the ongoing development of the public spaces and increase in businesses in the area will be to the long term advantage of the city through the increase of leisure and retail facilities, and when Gloscat’s new building opens next door at Gloucester Quays in September, there are likely to be up to 6000 students flooding into the city through the Docks, which will radically change the feel of this area of the city.
“It is easy to criticise a half-finished project, especially when you compare it to a city ten times the size and ten years further down the line in terms of regeneration, as George Ferguson has drawn with Gloucester to Copenhagen.
However, it’s right and proper that the regeneration of Gloucester should be out under the spotlight and we are all excited at the progress being made to bring life back into this City.”
Greyfriars developer appointed
The news this week that Edward Ware Homes Ltd has been appointed to develop the Greyfriars site on Brunswick Road in Gloucester, one of our ‘Magnificent Seven’ sites, is great news for the city (see press release under our media information pages on this website for the full details).
This will be an exemplar scheme of how city centre housing can be developed both sustainably and with environmental sensitivity, and with Edward Ware’s proven track record in providing successful sustainable communities it’s a great way to lead the regeneration in the city centre. Just as important, it will deliver more badly needed city centre residential accommodation, helping to rejuvenate the city’s night-time economy.
One of the most things I’m most looking forward to on this project is the demolition of the ugly 8-floor Gloscat Tower, which should happen next year. Taking away this 30-year old blot on the landscape will open up stunning new views through the city centre.
Our Video Diary Project is gaining speed as a third group of young people film their view of the changes taking place in Gloucester, and over the next few months we’ll be streaming the results on this website for everyone to watch.
Through our Community Ambassador Programme, we’re encouraging people, of all ages and from all communities, to help us shape the future of Gloucester, because the more ideas we share, the better for everyone who lives, works or visits here. You can find more information under the Community Involvement pages on our website.
Welcome to the Gloucester Heritage URC blog
“We hope you like the style, layout and navigation of our new website.
Amongst several new featues on this site, we’ve included this blog because we want to hear from you.
Just add your comments to our entries and remember to keep them short. There’s also an opportunity for you to feedback your opinions via the Comment facility at the base of all the pages within the ‘Magnificent Seven’ section.
With our blog we’ll try to involve you by taking you inside the regeneration of the city and sharing some of the details about the progress and achievements we’re making in our challenging but exciting 10 year plan to create a new and prosperous city for the 21st Century.
Please use this site as your opportunuity to get your voice heard about the exciting plans we have for Gloucester. Your comments will help to shape the future of the city for generations to come."
Chris Oldershaw, Chief Executive, Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company Ltd.
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