Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company

14 Comments

Good idea Derek, a nice attractively laid out roundabout could provide a nice southern gateway to this city. But it must have provisions for pedestrians crossing, and preferably not a pelican crossing 10 meters from the roundabout- a footbridge or underpass maybe. I also agree with the Cole Avenue junction- is it really necessary to have so many traffic lights sets- I feel humiliated every time I drive through it, the council must think we are all blind.
And fourthed however you say it with the parking fine comment- if the council wants to attract visitors here after they closed down all life in the area and turned it into a housing estate, the way not to do it is trying to catch everyone off guard to make money- whats the problem with parking overnight?
Posted on 2/Jul/2008

Derek Tolley-Newell

Not sure if this comment belongs here but how many drivers have noticed that the temporary roundabout at the junction of Bristol Road, Southgate STreet and St Ann Way has actually improved traffic flow? When the hotel under construction is finished I note the plans show that a new traffic light systemn wil be in place. How much better to have a roundabout with a fountain, statue or some other feature at a major entry point to the city centre and the new prestigious Docks development? Maybe the highways authorities could also reinstate the beautiful Cole Avenu roundabout they destroyed and replaced with the 48 set traffic light monstrosity that exists now!
Posted on 29/Jun/2008

Alastair Stevens

Thirded - sort out the miserable parking swines! Ripping off people and upsetting them at the end of a night out is so typical of modern Britain. I was hugely disappointed to see this happening here in the Docks, which needs all the help it can get to come alive again.
Posted on 20/Jun/2008

Jayne Lawley also ex docks visitor

I too got caught out by the misleading parking meter at the docks.

I got pounced on by some saddo jobsworth with nothing better to do on Sunday at 00.10 and got a fine for £120.

Isn`t that a excessive what greedy person can justify that, I definately won`t be returning to the docks again, visitors to the docks are few and far bewteen at the docks surely they should be looking after visitors and not trying their hardest to catch them out.
Posted on 16/Jun/2008

Ex Docks visitor

Could someone explain why a car parking company has been employed to pounce on the unsuspecting tourist by issuing a parking ticket for £120 as soon as it is midnight. As Fosters doesn't close until midnight on Fri/Sat the restriction should be altered for these evenings. I won't be back!!
Posted on 10/Mar/2008

Atax Payer

"the new apartments are housed in a horrible building, and the quaint Albion Cottages are dwarfed by the huge black multi storey car park. - it will be hated and will require pulling down" .... I can't agree more, who on earth agreed to building that awful looking apartment block.
Posted on 8/Mar/2008

Enter your name here

Could someone tell me why merchants quay shopping center was closed down? It was actually quite a nice little center, at least it brought some life to the area. I thought we were supposed to be getting redevelopment, not a giant housing estate.
Posted on 31/Jan/2008

secret squirrel

Most Saturday mornings I take my little boy out in his pushchair and have a stroll around the docks. It's very nice, especially on a bright winter morning; but how depressing that there are no people around, no shops (apart from the convenience store), no cafes etc etc. Exactly when will this area of the dock have some life injected back into it? Clearly the initial regeneration failed as the businesses are no longer there.
Posted on 21/Dec/2007

Anthony Pope

What can be done to get quality retail on the ground floors of the remaining vacant premises whether it is restaurants, bars, coffee houses or commercial workshop business? Can there not be a joint promotion campaign between the developers Crest Nicholson, Laing etc. to launch simultaneously to get this type of business’s tenants in, this in turn would support each other to help gain the docks a reputation as a major attraction throughout the year.

To entice visitors from the vast Quays development opening in 2009, we must do all that we can to aid the flow of visitors into the docks and further on into the city centre. Downgrading vehicular access on part of Llanthony Road for pedestrian flow across into the docks, as well as having well designed signposting here for the dock attractions such as the National Waterways Museum, Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, T. Nielson Company dry dock, the Antiques centre and the various restaurants would all help bring extra footfall into these.

The residential element, which brings life to the docks, looks set to further increase within the Lock Warehouse and understand once the City Council re-locates within the Blackfriars site (believe this has been agreed in principle) this will release one or two more warehouses where more apartments will sure to be developed, that’s fine but again, quality restaurants/bars on the ground floors of these prominent locations, would make a great visual opportunity as you come up the quay from the Westgate area. This assumes the downgrading of the Quay as part of a new pedestrian friendly waterfront. This could achieve an ‘Exeter docks’ looking area.

Questions with regard to progress etc:
When are we likely to see re-development of the new Merchants Quay building?

Someone recently wrote in the Gloucester Citizen about having a brewery located in the docks. What a fantastic idea, maybe a feasibility study could be carried out to see if this would suit.

What about a cycle hire place for the rejuvenated Gloucester and Sharpness canal towpath. Visitors could cycle as far south as they like say Frampton for a morning or afternoon and then grab something to eat/drink within the docks/quays on their return. Surely, this really would attract many visitors.

What is the timescale for proposed re-development of the dry dock attraction with visitor centre, restaurant/café and multi-storey car park? Would have to assume this multi-storey car park would have to be in place prior to commencement of the Southgate Moorings development?

There was a talk of a tower look out point somewhere within the docks being developed, where are we with this? Is this is still being looked into regarding its feasibility?

Posted on 21/Nov/2007

Antony

The new pedestrian surfacing around the Mariners Church, adjacent new apartments and Albion Cottages is taking a very long time to finish, and the areas that are actually complete look scruffy and run down. The effect lighting is virtually all out of order, the infinity lightboxes have never worked and the paving they are set into is riddled with patches of concrete infill where some of the disused boxes have been removed. The effect lighting on the benches is a stunning idea, but this too is broken.

The standard of architecture is surprisingly low, the new apartments are housed in a horrible building, and the quaint Albion Cottages are dwarfed by the huge black multi storey car park. Both buildings and the nearby Vinings Restaraunt are totally out of keeping with the rest of the docks, and while very trendy will clearly in a number of years suffer the same fate as the 60's architecture that was so trendy in it's day - it will be hated and will require pulling down (although Vinings serves simply delicious food).

On the whole, the entire docks area features nothing but offices, flats, work which is being carried out in a half hearted manner (and very slowly) and scruffy, poorly maintained installations in areas which are supposedly already 'revived'.

There is also a distinct lack of things for the tourist to do at the Docks - especially now somebody has decided the shopping centre will look better closed - even Fosters remains closed down since the Great Flood! Tourists have the choice of three museums - hardly a good reason to visit Gloucester - and obviously with Fosters gone the nightlife at the docks is non-existant.

This Rennaisance needs to getinto gear quickly before the dock are nothing more than an urban housing estate with a waterside view.....
Posted on 20/Nov/2007

Mart Johns

Just touching on Gerards comment about the butt bin for smokers - Id like to see small scale recycle bins dotted about. Blue for paper, yellow for plastic/plastic bottles and so forth. One question is just how green can we be? I say let our City be a leader in the regeneration of re-usuble materials and set an example of just how green we all can be!
Posted on 24/Sep/2007

Gerard, Gloucester

I agree that maintenance of the area is an issue. The stone surfacing looks scruffy because of vehicles being allowed onto the pedestrian areas. It would be useful to have bins for smokers to stub out and dispose of their butts. Also, the groundworks around the Biddle & Shipton Warehouse are taking forever to complete, over 6 months and still not ready...
Posted on 4/Sep/2007

Matt - Gloucester

I think there needs to be adequate traffic controls, maybe clamping to stop people parking over the new hard landscaping. The area is already looking tired with black tyre marks & oil spillage, not to mention the redundant infinity light boxes. It does not feel like a pedestrian area.
Posted on 15/Aug/2007

Denise Probert

Hi

I've been trying to find some information regarding the redevelopment of Gloucester docks but there doesn't seem to be anything to read anywhere. I believe it is now one year since permission to develop the docks was granted by John Prescott and there is nothing in the docks area to indicate a start date or if anything is even imminent.

We visited the Antique Centre a week ago and the surrounding area was deserted and looked very depressed. It's disappointing that with permission to develop granted apart from the many, many homes which have been built plus a new college the whole area looked quite sad and neglected and certainly not on the verge of any renaissance. Grass was sprouting through the paved areas and the new restaurant housed in an architecturally disappointingly unwholesome building was locked up and deserted the afternoon we were there. It all combined to give off an air of neglect rather than regeneration.

What is the situation regarding the development and when will there be a glimmer that something is about to happen?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Regards

Denise Probert

Posted on 11/Jul/2007

What do you think? Post your opinion

Gloucester Docks

The rebirth of England′s most inland port.

Gloucester Docks - video overview

Gloucester Docks - google map

Site description

Outputs