We hear from Julie Witham (Bristol City Council Urban Designer) that a new series of studies are forthcoming that will affect the Floating Harbour and Bathurst Basin. The studies will inform a new ‘Harbour Place Shaping Strategy’.
In 2021/22 Bristol City Council undertook a number of technical studies to identify opportunities, constraints and challenges within Bristol’s Harbour. The studies identified a pressing need to develop a Place Shaping Strategy for the harbourside, to identify how the area can connect with and support the planned growth at Temple Quarter, the City Centre and Western Harbour whilst simultaneously enhancing the Harbour as a regionally significant visitor destination.
By January 2023, the Council hope to have commissioned consultants to start preparing this strategy and anticipate it will take about nine months to complete. Friends of Bathurst Basin have been promised opportunity to inform this strategy.
More Eco-space
The Council also hope to create substantially more eco-space in the Harbour. A bid to the West of England Combined Authority will deliver approximately 700sqm of floating eco-space, linked to the additional 32 moorings proposed at Capricorn Quay (opposite the Great Britain). According to Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, the new reed beds will create a habitat that ‘will improve water quality, support stronger fish stocks and provide haven for birds.’ He adds, ‘Residents and visitors will experience an enhanced waterfront, with visible greenery and more contact with nature.’