Work on landmark Gloucester Malthouse due to start

The work may take four years

Work to redevelop a landmark building in Gloucester Docks looks set to begin this autumn, according to Gloucester MP Richard Graham.

The £40m scheme is part of the ongoing redevelopment of Bakers Quay.

It will create 117 flats and the partial demolition, restoration and development of Downings Malthouse.

Developers Rokeby Merchant said the new building was designed to be "unapologetic" about its height and create a new landmark.

In a letter to his constituents, Mr Graham said the likely completion of the planned 10-storey Downings tower block would be the end of 2028.

The developers were granted permission by Gloucester City Council a year ago for the restoration and development of a further phase of Bakers Quay.

The scheme reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. includes the creation of a new basement level in Downings Malthouse to house basement car parking and an extension.

The next redevelopment phase of Bakers Quay should be completed by 2028

There will be a bridge link to the tower block extension to provide more flats and commercial floorspace on the ground and upper floors.

The development also includes a new building on the site of the former silo and High Orchard Street Kiln. This will include car parking, a ground floor plaza, reception and accommodation linking the building to Downings Malthouse, to provide 68 flats on the ground and upper floors.

Mr Graham said the scheme has been funded by £40m of private investment with no public money, adding that though "a lot of invisible work" had started, the development would take time.

"Because of revised building regulations, the plans for Downings Tower need to be altered and so the Tower now comes last," he said. "The heritage elements of the development come first."