Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone bridge plan wins £11m

The new bridge will allow plans for an 11,000-seater indoor arena to progress

Plans for a new road bridge, allowing access to part of the Enterprise Zone near Bristol Temple Meads railway station, have been given funding.

HM Treasury has signed off an £11m investment for the project, which will link the derelict former diesel depot to the rest of the city.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will build a new access road and bridge over the River Avon to the site.

It will allow plans for an 11,000-seat arena on the site to progress.

Work on the new three-lane bridge, off Cattle Market Road at the back of the railway station, is scheduled to begin before the end of the year.

David Warburton, from the HCA, said up o 2,600 jobs would be created on the site.

'Populate the area'

"It physically makes the site available for a number of uses," he said.

"Putting this infrastructure in will open up the site which will enable people to move in and populate the area with small creative, media based digital businesses.

"The site in question is the biggest undeveloped site in the [Bristol Temple Quarter] enterprise zone."

A further £500,000 will be invested in improvements around the boundary of the 3.4 ha site, the HCA said.

Bristol City Council and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) plane to be build the arena to make it the heart of the enterprise zone.

Bristol mayor George Ferguson said: "Building an arena is hugely important for Bristol and the region and is a key catalyst for the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

"This £11m investment by the HCA to unlock the arena island site is great news."

Bristol's Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone is one of a number of such areas in England where firms can benefit from cheaper business rates, superfast broadband and lower levels of planning control.