News / Western Harbour
Western Harbour now expected to be built by 2032
A “mapping and making workshop” took place with an invited group of elders in Easton on Wednesday to help decide the future of the Western Harbour, an area of Bristol making up part of Hotwells, Spike Island and Ashton.
The workshop at Eastside Community Trust will be followed by a similar event on Saturday in Lawrence Weston prior to four workshops at Riverside Garden Centre.
The garden centre itself was under threat in the initial plans for the Western Harbour, which Bristol City Council have now taken back to the drawing board with the start of a new public engagement programme.
is needed now More than ever
A website, Harbour Hopes, is part of a “creative engagement programme (that) will start a citywide conversation on the future of Western Harbour, the regeneration area centred around Cumberland Basin, to explore people’s hopes and aspirations for the future transformation of the area”.
A new Instagram account, HarbourHopes, has been created alongside a website – image: Instagram
As previously reported in Bristol24/7, “creative ambassadors” will also be appointed to “connect Bristol’s talent in photography, film, illustration, and poetry with local people, to help better understand the character of the area and bring ideas to life”.
“Listening Labs” will take place online “with invited local stakeholder groups and communities of interest. They will gather hopes and fears and help those who know the area well to share their views and understanding of the area.”
All of the ideas generated from the sessions, feedback on the Harbour Hopes website and on Instagram will be considered in a “Place Labs” event in October “to develop a place shaping vision for Western Harbour”.
Bristol City Council write that “Place Labs will be hands-on workshops led by the design teams to determine which placemaking themes are most important to people and explore emerging design principles. The Vision will include ideas and principles for the future of the area.”
A masterplan is set to emerge for the Western Harbour during 2022, as well as a formal community consultation, with development work due to commence in 2026 and due to be finished by 2032.
The proposed Western Harbour development covers an area of Ashton, Spike Island and Hotwells – photo: Bristol City Council
Marvin Rees’ church, Hope Community Church on Hope Chapel Hill in Hotwells, is only a few hundred yards from the Western Harbour site.
The mayor said: “As Bristol responds to multiple challenges, including the climate and ecological emergencies, a housing crisis and shifts in how people want to live, work and travel, we have an opportunity to shape Western Harbour so that it meets the city’s priorities and the needs of the local community.
“We want to hear what is important to people from across Bristol so that we can create a vision for Western Harbour that resonates with the whole city.
“Harbour Hopes and the programme of events we’ve planned gives the public that opportunity.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more: Poet and illustrator to ‘paint a picture’ of the future of Western Harbour
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
