Work on a major redevelopment scheme that will provide the final piece of the jigsaw to regenerate Bristol’s iconic Harbourside will get underway this week.
Wapping Wharf, which is being developed by Umberslade in a joint venture with Muse Developments, will be one of the most significant schemes the city has seen in recent years.
This Friday (4 October), Mayor George Ferguson will mark the start of the work with a ground-breaking ceremony.
This first phase of construction will include the development of 194 residential apartments, including 26 affordable homes and 865 sq metres of retail and leisure space as well as a new pedestrian pathway linking south Bristol and the Harbourside.
Preparatory work on Wapping Wharf started late last year, following a £12 million investment from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), the largest single award in the UK made under the ‘Get Britain Building’ scheme.
Stuart Hatton, director of Wapping Wharf (Umberslade) Ltd, said: “Wapping Wharf is the last key regeneration site on the Harbourside and the start of construction work is a move in the right direction for the Bristol economy.
“With other speculative projects such as 66 Queen Square, 2 Glass Wharf and the final phase of Crest Nicholson’s Harbourside development getting off the ground, it signals the resurgence of the Bristol property market and increasing levels of confidence in the industry.”
The scheme will retain and restore several key listed buildings and the old jail gates to enhance the City Docks conservation area and create new public spaces and routes to the waterfront.
The new stepped and ramped pedestrian route called Gaol Ferry Steps will run from Gaol Ferry Bridge, the existing footbridge over the Cut, through the site to Museum Square, a new public landscaped square on the waterfront by M Shed.
When complete, Wapping Wharf will be transformed into a community of up to 625 homes, as well as local shops, cafes, restaurants, offices and a 150 bed boutique hotel.
Umberslade, the team behind Wapping Wharf, has recently formed a joint venture with Muse Developments, a part of Morgan Sindall Group plc. The joint venture will progress the £42m first phase in Bristol’s Harbourside.
Guy Fowler, director major projects at John Sisk & Son Ltd, who have been appointed to carry out the construction work at Wapping Wharf, commented: “We are delighted to be delivering the first phase of this very exciting scheme which will kick-start the regeneration of an important area of Bristol.”
