£6 million windfall signals the end for Bristol's GPO

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£6 million windfall signals the end for Bristol's eyesore GPO building

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BRISTOL'S worst eyesore is finally set to be knocked down, thanks to a £6 million windfall from the Government to buy the site from an investment firm. The former Royal Mail sorting office has blighted the view of passengers arriving in Bristol at Temple Meads station since it closed down in 1997.

The Bristol Post understands a deal to buy it is "very close", thanks to funding announced yesterday by Communities Minister Stephen Williams.

Mr Williams, who is also MP for Bristol West, said he was announcing £6 million for the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone to bring parts of the site into public ownership, which was needed so that the zone could "take off and be developed into a digital media village".

The Post understands the key acquisition in question is the site of the former sorting office and that a deal is "very nearly there".

Bristol deputy mayor Geoff Gollop added: "This £6 million government capital funding for the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone is in response to a specific request to government and is extremely good news. It is yet another example of Bristol being recognised nationally as making solid progress with its regeneration plans.

"This particular funding will enable us to bring forward development and jobs in the enterprise zone, which in turn will bring further investment to the city."

The minister announced the funding at the site of the proposed 12,000-seat arena, just across the river Avon from the sorting office on the site of a former diesel depot.

At the same time the symbolic first digging of earth was carried out on the project to build an £11.5 million two-lane road bridge over the river – said to the first in 100 years – which will open up the site.

The bridge is being paid for by the Homes and Communities Agency, a government organisation which owns the depot site and has been tasked with putting it to use.

David Warburton, head of the HCA in this region, said the work on the bridge was a "clear signal" that the various organisations were working together to bring new jobs to Bristol.

He said: "Development of this site has been constrained for many years because of the lack of access and infrastructure, which has effectively cut it off from the rest of the city.

"This work will help to address this and support the council and LEP's vision for an arena on the site, which has the potential to generate a huge number of jobs."

Colin Skellett, chairman for the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, which has the task of creating thousands of new jobs the enterprise zone, said: "It's great to see actual physical work starting on the arena site.

"This new bridge is a vital piece of infrastructure, opening up the site and improving access to and from the station and with the rest of the city.

"It brings us another step closer to the arena – something that is much needed for the city region, not just in giving us a first-class entertainment venue, but as a catalyst to investment here, creating future jobs and growth."

He said the arena would only take up half to two-thirds of the diesel depot site, so there would be space for more businesses alongside it, and the bridge was vital to attracting them.

The work is being carried out by contractor John Sisk and Son, which employs about 70 people in Avonmouth and is also building the Wapping Wharf development on the Harbourside.

Director Owen Sisk said that as a locally-based firm, they would be able to call on a local supply chain during the work.