Project Update - Silverthorne Lane

27/04/22

You may have seen our 2020 news article reporting that Bristol City Council had made a resolution to grant planning permission for the regeneration of the Silverthorne Lane scheme in Bristol.

Well, after that events took a twist when the application was called in by the Secretary of State and an Inquiry was convened to examine flood risk and heritage matters in greater detail. That event was held back in May 2021, with the subsequent Inspector’s report recommending planning consent be granted.

We are now extremely pleased to report that the Secretary of State has issued their decision confirming agreement with the Inspector’s conclusions, noting the significant weight applied to the financial and employment benefits of the scheme proceeding, and that planning consent has now – finally - been granted for this significant element of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

The redevelopment includes around 370 apartments, office space, new accommodation for the University of Bristol, a much needed 1,600 place secondary school and an 840 bed student accommodation scheme on a 4.2ha former industrial site. Our work on this large urban regeneration project centred on the overarching access strategy for the scheme, which included the redesign of the eastern section of Silverthorne Lane to provide a pedestrian priority street. As well as providing a significant improvement to the current fabric and experience of pedestrians and cyclists using the street to access the new development, the proposals will greatly improve connectivity for active travel users between the city centre and residential areas to the east of the adjacent railway line. We also provided advice on the design of the public realm within the development itself, and we prepared the Transport Assessment and Framework Travel Plan that supported the planning application for the overall scheme.

We look forward to continuing to work with our long-standing client, Square Bay, and the wider project team to help deliver this complex city centre regeneration scheme in the months to come.