Construction of new university campus in Bristol city centre may not start until at least autumn

Construction of a new £300m university campus in Bristol is not expected to get under way until autumn.

The University of Bristol gained planning approval in March to build the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, on the the site of the old Royal Mail sorting office at Temple Island.

It will span across seven acres and will provide teaching, research and innovation space for 3,000 students and 800 members of staff.

Accommodation blocks up to 21 storeys tall will house more than 950 student rooms, and there will also be buildings for the new Bristol Digital Futures Institute and Quantum Technology Innovation Centre.

Since Bristol City Council members gave their unanimous approval pre-lockdown, there has already been some movement on and around the site.

Investigations into the utilities supply, such as gas and water, have resulted in a lengthy road closure near Temple Meads station.

Parts of Cattle Market Road and Feeder Road have been closed since June 29, which the university said will remain in place until “early August.”

A university spokesperson said: “The site enabling works at Temple Quarter has involved the closure of Cattle Market Road and Feeder Road, in order to carry out investigations of utility services.

“This was a planned closure and agreed with the relevant authorities.”

The only Cattle Market Road closure listed on the public roadworks site one.network is for drainage repairs, for which an end date is listed as August 22.

It is not clear if this is the same closure as above, as the authority carrying out the works is listed as the city council.

The main building works are yet to begin, however, as the university’s tender process to appoint a contractor is ongoing.

A project spokesperson told Bristol Live that the contract should be assigned to the chosen bidder in autumn, after which construction can begin.

There have already been ground investigations and surveys on site, which are required to be completed prior to the commencement of the main works.

The build is expected to take three years, and the university plans to open the campus in September 2023.

Plans were unveiled last week for a new nine-storey student housing block nearby, with space for almost 300 rooms and communal facilities.