Major changes to Bristol city centre to include filling in the faulty fountains
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The promenade running through the city centre will be upgraded in a three-month project, which will also involve replacing five “overgrown” trees.
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Hide AdDuring the works, the street food market will not be able to operate in its usual location. But Bristol City Council said there would be more space for markets and events, once the Centre reopens. The works will take place between the statue of Neptune and the Cascade Steps.
In the longer term, the cycle track running alongside the promenade could also be “made more visible”, to reduce conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. A leading councillor said the changes would make the Centre “work better” with more room for events and people travelling through.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Brown, chair of the economy and skills policy committee, said: “This is a busy area in the city and one that has many uses, from the food stalls and events through to thousands of passing pedestrians and cyclists.
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Hide Ad“While the fountains were a good idea in principle, they reduce the available space and have not worked properly for many years because of limited water storage capacity underground. By creating a flat surface across this whole area, we can give more room for events and people travelling through the Centre, which will make the area work better and take much of the pressure off all these competing needs.”
The three broken fountains will be covered over and the wooden decking removed, and the whole promenade area will be replaced with the same light-coloured surface including a large new artwork. The council will build platforms over three sets of steps, that run alongside Broad Quay in between the tree planters, to be used for things like street food stalls.
Five London plane trees, which have outgrown their planters, will be replaced with five smaller blossoming trees that are “more suited to raised planters”. The current ones were planted in 2000 and their roots are too large, pushing out of the planters and damaging them. If left in place the trees could become unstable and pose a risk to people in the area.
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Hide AdCllr Brown added: “When next visiting the Centre, I’d encourage you to take a closer look at the five raised planters that run alongside Broad Quay. You will see that the roots of the trees are pushing the limestone cladding off the planters as they have outgrown the contained space. They will only grow larger and could become unstable, which would be dangerous for people in the area if we do nothing.
“It’s not been an easy decision to make as we always aim to save healthy trees if we can. Working with arboricultural specialists, we have looked at other options, such as building larger planters or cutting back the root systems and the crown of the trees.
“However, both these options do not deal with the problem of the shallow planters in the long-term and could also lead to the trees becoming unstable. We cannot replant the trees elsewhere as they are so large that, to remove them safely, they need to be felled in sections.
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Hide Ad“For these reasons we are replacing the five trees with ones that will be much happier growing in the planters. We have chosen small to medium trees that blossom in the spring with a spray of pink flowers, so they should be a lovely addition to the Centre. As a council, we are committed to increasing the number of trees in Bristol with 100,000 trees planted since 2015 as part of the One Tree Per Child and Trees for Streets programmes.”
The chopped-down trees will be turned into woodchip and burned in biomass boilers, including in schools and leisure centres. Some woodchip will also be used to mulch around the base of the newly planted trees, to suppress weeds and help keep the soil moist.
The work is expected to start in January, and forms part of the City Centre and High Streets programme, funded by the council and the West of England Combined Authority. It’s expected to cost £365,000. Temporary alternative locations for the market are being considered.
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Hide AdThe cycle track running to the side of the area will stay open, and in the longer term will be reviewed to potentially “make it more visible to reduce conflict” between people walking and cycling. The cycle track is a similar colour to the rest of the pavement and is barely noticeable, with pedestrians often walking along the route.
Cllr Brown said: “We are really grateful to everyone for bearing with us while we carry out these works that will make the Centre more spacious, vibrant and safer for everyone.”
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