£300m city centre campus for University for Bristol unanimously approved

The final hurdle to the University of Bristol’s new £300million city centre campus has been overcome after councillors unanimously backed the plans.

Development control committee members approved detailed designs for the new academic buildings on the site of the former Royal Mailsorting office on Temple Island.

They heard conditions would be imposed to ensure a cholera burial ground was not disturbed and also to satisfy the Environment Agency’s objection on grounds of flood risk, which officers said was “99 per cent certain” to be withdrawn.

It follows outline planning permission for the new campus in 2018, the demolition of the old building last year and consent in October to house 953 students in three blocks up to 21 storeys high.

New research, enterprise and teaching buildings will be built in its place, making up the academic part of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus next to Temple Meads railway station.

Councillors praised their design at the committee meeting on Wednesday (March 18).

Cllr Jo Sergeant said the university should provide facilities including a health centre and counselling to support students’ mental health.

Bristol City Council head of development Gary Collins said: “Mental health and wellbeing is very high on the agenda for the university and they are keen to develop a range of facilities.”

Cllr Harriet Bradley, a former University of Bristol professor, said the institution should run a shuttle service between the main Clifton campus and the new site.

She said: “Academics never like to retire, so you’ve got a lot of older folk who are hanging on until they’re 90 and I can’t see them cycling down to this campus, so a shuttle bus would be a really good idea.”

Officers said they would discuss the idea with the university, which has agreed to provide improvements to public transport under a legal agreement that came with outline permission.

Cllr Bradley said: “I still have worries about the transport situation but everything else about this scheme is admirable and very good for the city.”

University vice-chancellor Prof Guy Orpen told members: “Today marks the culmination of four years of work on the site by the university and its partners across the city in acquiring, developing and designing the site for all our futures.

“The site is a huge opportunity for the city and is long overdue for development.

“The buildings and public realm are designed for collaboration for the benefit of businesses, community partners and of course university students and staff and is destined to create new jobs and prosperity both on and off the campus.

“The design shows we have listened to the feedback by our neighbours.

“Through the outline permission we are glad to make significant contributions to the walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure around the site.

“I am pleased to say the design has received strong support from the Bristol Urban Design Forum and your own city design officers.

“Together we have the opportunity to send a massive signal of confidence in the future of this part of the city.”

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The new seven-acre campus will be home to the university’s new school of management, its centre for innovation and entrepreneurship and much of its digital engineering activity.

It will provide teaching, research and innovation space for 3,000 students, about 800 members of staff and external partners from business and the city’s communities.

It will also include the recently announced Bristol Digital Futures Institute and the Quantum Technology Innovation Centre.

The ground floor of the main, five-storey academic building – described at the meeting as looking like the interior of the main Southmead Hospital atrium – will host exhibitions, public events such as lectures and film screenings, pop-up catering, a café and shop.

The rest of the building will be made up of a mix of research, teaching and social spaces.

According to the university the campus will be car-free and proposals include a new transport hub at the entrance to the Cattle Market Road site which could accommodate extended public bus services.