Plot 6 Pressures

Written by Pete Goodwin Saturday, 12 March 2011

Bristol's Green Parties are piling on the pressure to keep the hope of a city transport hub alive - as the government tries to sell off the best site in Bristol.

'Plot 6', alongside Temple Meads, has been highlighted for years by the Greens and transport campaigners as the place where an interchange between buses, coaches, trains, trams and ferries could bring the radical improvement that Bristol's transport desperately needs.  In the last few months, their campaigning has begun to pay off, as local politicians of other parties have begun to agree¹.  

But the government is winding up the Regional Development Agency, SWRDA, and has told it to sell off its assets, including Plot 6, to the highest bidder.  The only condition on the sale of the site would be to develop to a 'master plan' already prepared by SWRDA and Network Rail.  That Plan doesn't include a transport hub.

Now the Greens have written to Transport Minister Norman Baker² to ask him to intervene, because of the special potential of Plot 6 to turn Bristol's transport problems around.  They're also asking city councillor Gary Hopkins, who has responsibility for transport, to get Plot 6 written into the council's policy before it's too late³.

Spokesman Pete Goodwin said:

" We must have urgent action to save Plot 6 for this use, and only the Liberal Democrats  - in the shape of the Transport Minister and our own Cabinet in Bristol - are in a position to deliver.  So far, in spite of all the talk, there's not a word in the council's planning or transport policies that can safeguard the site against being wasted solely on more offices and car parks.  That's why we're raising the matter directly with the Minister and in the city council meeting on the 22nd."

Mr Hopkins says he's already mentioned it to Norman Baker, who appeared to be interested.  But meanwhile the negotiations to sell the site to a private developer are continuing.

Notes:

1. Replying to Pete Goodwin at the January 18 council meeting, Cllr Hopkins gave the first indication of interest in Plot 6 as a full transport interchange. Two days later, the cross-party Transport Scrutiny Commission agreed "any sale should be subject to a condition that would enable BCC to insist on part or all of the site being used for the purpose of a comprehensive, multimodal transport interchange"
2. Letter to Norman Baker MP here
3. Questions for March 22nd council meeting:

The recent (and welcome) adoption of an aspiration for a major transport hub on Plot 6 by yourself and by other parties, as reflected in your own public statements and in the Transport Scrutiny process, seems threatened by the reported intention of SWRDA to sell the plot conditional on the buyer honouring the previous (bus-free) Master Plan:

1.  Are there conditions in place yet that will protect the site's potential to be used as a multimodal transport hub serving all parts of Bristol?

2.  When might we see the council, or the Cabinet, or the West of England Partnership, adopt these aspirations as written policy?

Contact: Pete Goodwin, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it