Council declares bonanza site sale
Commercial potential The council’s sale of surplus land has produced a crop of development proposals. Nadia Elghamry reports
Bristol city council last year announced that it was to sell four major sites in the city centre as part of its 2005-2008 capital receipts programme, as well as complete a deal on Cabot House (see box). The sites, including what the council calls “surplus property and land”, are worth an estimated £48m. The sale will provide cash for schools and hospitals, and help reduce the council’s 2005 £4.8m net overspend.
Disagreements between the council’s Liberal Democrats and Conservatives held up finalising the receipts programme, but Alun Owen, head of property and finance at Bristol city council, says this year’s programme has now been agreed and is progressing.
For the coming year, Owen points to 60 or 70 sites that could generate significant amounts of income. Many of these are smaller in-fill sites, such as allotments and school sites, that will be used for residential. Some, however, will provide major commercial opportunities.
Local agents, unsurprisingly, support the council’s initiative. “The council is acting at the peak of the cycle, which will give it maximum value,” says Peter White, director at Atisreal.
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Sites for sale
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Offices, retail, leisure, sports, parkland and a hospital are among the many proposals for the council’s surplus sites
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1. Avonmouth/Royal Portbury Docks
2,200 acres
Bristol Port Authority, which owns a 150-year lease (beginning in 1991) on the docks, is locked in discussions with the council over what constitutes fair value for the freehold.
2. O&M Sheds, Welsh Back, Harbourside
14,000 sq ft
Cordwell Leisure Developments has been selected as preferred developer for the site. A planning application has been submitted to the council for a restaurant and bar. Planning permission is imminent.
3. St Mary le Port
5.3 acres
According to the council, this represents a “substantial chunk” of its capital receipts programme. Plans include a landmark office building shortlisted by Burges Salmon (p122). Despite announcing it would sell the freehold of the site in July last year, the council now says it will retain ownership and restructure leases. Morley and London & Paris Estates (trading as Strand Street) already hold long leaseholds for2 acres of the site. The two have disagreed over redevelopment, and the council has now appointed local developer Deeley Freed Estates as masterplanner. Despite the involvement of two big hitters, the council says: “None of the current parties has experience in building a comprehensive mixed-use scheme.” Both Morley and Strand Street will surrender their leases. Strand Street will retain a restructured lease, and Morley will have a choice between acquiring a new one or taking the money on the table. Work could start on site during 2007.
4. Stokes Croft and Backfields
0.4-acre site plus a third-of-a-mile strip alongside historic Stokes Croft
Alun Owen, head of property and finance at Bristol council, says a sale of the Backfields site is imminent, and the plot will soon be in the hands of a local developer. A planning application for residential and some convenience retail has been submitted. Stokes Croft, however, is more complicated. The site is ripe for housing and retail development although the council says it has no plans and admits the site is “awkward”. Ownership issues are also a problem. The council is “very actively” engaged in negotiations with the Comer Group, owner of the key Westmoreland House site, but says: “It’s fair to say that discussions are taking longer than we had hoped.” A feasibility study commissioned by the council, the South West Regional Development Agency and St Paul’s Unlimited – a partnership between residents and local businesses – found the area contains several listed buildings and represents a “high risk” to developers. Rents on the street vary from £8-15 per sq ft.
5. Cabot House
1 acre
This is not a sale, but a site high on the list of the council’s priorities. Following public consultation at the end of last year, Westmark has submitted a planning application to demolish the council-owned building and replace it with a mixed-use scheme of 1m sq ft of offices, 78 homes and 4,500 sq ft of retail and leisure. A decision is imminent. Euan Cresswell, head of Westmark, was managing director of Berkeley subsidiary Beaufort when the council selected Beaufort Homes Western as preferred developer for Cabot House in 2001. However, regeneration never happened, and the council retendered for partners.
Ones to watch
6. Henbury
6.1 acres
Sale of land following a PFI scheme to rebuild Henbury school is expected in the next 12 months. A nearby swimming pool, due to be relocated to a local school, will free up additional land. The combined sites should accommodate a significant housing scheme.
7. Hengrove Park
c172 acres (26 acres for commercial use)
A masterplan has been agreed for the site, and outline planning approval is expected this spring. Heads of terms have been agreed with Bristol South & West Primary Care Trust for South Bristol Community Hospital. The scheme will provide the hospital, 20 acres of land for 430,000 sq ft of office and light industrial space and 6 acres of leisure space, as well as a 118-acre landscaped park, 27 acres of residential land, a swimming pool and a sports centre. In total, 2,400 jobs will be created.
8. Queen Square
Customs House – the first to go on sale – was sold at auction for £955,000 this month. A deal had been brokered for the site but the council’s Owen says it fell through. Voluntary organisations have looked at setting up shop on the site, but the council is to looking to encourage redevelopment in the short to medium term. “The site offers a wide range of opportunities,” he says. “We’ve got a free view on this at the moment. The site lends itself to offices, but I would not be surprised if restaurants and leisure were developed there.”
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Commercial potential The council’s sale of surplus land has produced a crop of development proposals. Nadia Elghamry reports
Bristol city council last year announced that it was to sell four major sites in the city centre as part of its 2005-2008 capital receipts programme, as well as complete a deal on Cabot House (see box). The sites, including what the council calls “surplus property and land”, are worth an estimated £48m. The sale will provide cash for schools and hospitals, and help reduce the council’s 2005 £4.8m net overspend.
Disagreements between the council’s Liberal Democrats and Conservatives held up finalising the receipts programme, but Alun Owen, head of property and finance at Bristol city council, says this year’s programme has now been agreed and is progressing.
For the coming year, Owen points to 60 or 70 sites that could generate significant amounts of income. Many of these are smaller in-fill sites, such as allotments and school sites, that will be used for residential. Some, however, will provide major commercial opportunities.
Local agents, unsurprisingly, support the council’s initiative. “The council is acting at the peak of the cycle, which will give it maximum value,” says Peter White, director at Atisreal.
Sites for sale
Offices, retail, leisure, sports, parkland and a hospital are among the many proposals for the council’s surplus sites
1. Avonmouth/Royal Portbury Docks
2,200 acres
Bristol Port Authority, which owns a 150-year lease (beginning in 1991) on the docks, is locked in discussions with the council over what constitutes fair value for the freehold.
2. O&M Sheds, Welsh Back, Harbourside
14,000 sq ft
Cordwell Leisure Developments has been selected as preferred developer for the site. A planning application has been submitted to the council for a restaurant and bar. Planning permission is imminent.
3. St Mary le Port
5.3 acres
According to the council, this represents a “substantial chunk” of its capital receipts programme. Plans include a landmark office building shortlisted by Burges Salmon (p122). Despite announcing it would sell the freehold of the site in July last year, the council now says it will retain ownership and restructure leases. Morley and London & Paris Estates (trading as Strand Street) already hold long leaseholds for2 acres of the site. The two have disagreed over redevelopment, and the council has now appointed local developer Deeley Freed Estates as masterplanner. Despite the involvement of two big hitters, the council says: “None of the current parties has experience in building a comprehensive mixed-use scheme.” Both Morley and Strand Street will surrender their leases. Strand Street will retain a restructured lease, and Morley will have a choice between acquiring a new one or taking the money on the table. Work could start on site during 2007.
4. Stokes Croft and Backfields
0.4-acre site plus a third-of-a-mile strip alongside historic Stokes Croft
Alun Owen, head of property and finance at Bristol council, says a sale of the Backfields site is imminent, and the plot will soon be in the hands of a local developer. A planning application for residential and some convenience retail has been submitted. Stokes Croft, however, is more complicated. The site is ripe for housing and retail development although the council says it has no plans and admits the site is “awkward”. Ownership issues are also a problem. The council is “very actively” engaged in negotiations with the Comer Group, owner of the key Westmoreland House site, but says: “It’s fair to say that discussions are taking longer than we had hoped.” A feasibility study commissioned by the council, the South West Regional Development Agency and St Paul’s Unlimited – a partnership between residents and local businesses – found the area contains several listed buildings and represents a “high risk” to developers. Rents on the street vary from £8-15 per sq ft.
5. Cabot House
1 acre
This is not a sale, but a site high on the list of the council’s priorities. Following public consultation at the end of last year, Westmark has submitted a planning application to demolish the council-owned building and replace it with a mixed-use scheme of 1m sq ft of offices, 78 homes and 4,500 sq ft of retail and leisure. A decision is imminent. Euan Cresswell, head of Westmark, was managing director of Berkeley subsidiary Beaufort when the council selected Beaufort Homes Western as preferred developer for Cabot House in 2001. However, regeneration never happened, and the council retendered for partners.
Ones to watch
6. Henbury
6.1 acres
Sale of land following a PFI scheme to rebuild Henbury school is expected in the next 12 months. A nearby swimming pool, due to be relocated to a local school, will free up additional land. The combined sites should accommodate a significant housing scheme.
7. Hengrove Park
c172 acres (26 acres for commercial use)
A masterplan has been agreed for the site, and outline planning approval is expected this spring. Heads of terms have been agreed with Bristol South & West Primary Care Trust for South Bristol Community Hospital. The scheme will provide the hospital, 20 acres of land for 430,000 sq ft of office and light industrial space and 6 acres of leisure space, as well as a 118-acre landscaped park, 27 acres of residential land, a swimming pool and a sports centre. In total, 2,400 jobs will be created.
8. Queen Square
Customs House – the first to go on sale – was sold at auction for £955,000 this month. A deal had been brokered for the site but the council’s Owen says it fell through. Voluntary organisations have looked at setting up shop on the site, but the council is to looking to encourage redevelopment in the short to medium term. “The site offers a wide range of opportunities,” he says. “We’ve got a free view on this at the moment. The site lends itself to offices, but I would not be surprised if restaurants and leisure were developed there.”
