West celebrates triple Bristol Temple Quarter opening

Bristol has pulled off a rare triple opening, formally inaugurating three nationally significant projects in one day and marking the most advanced milestone yet in the £1 billion-plus Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration. On Monday, partners cut the ribbons on the University of Bristol's £500 million Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC), a new £23 million eastern entrance to Bristol Temple Meads station, and a new floating harbour walkway linking the campus and station to Temple Quay. The flagship of TQEC is the 38,000 sq m Sloane Robinson Building, a £241 million structure that will house the university's business school, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and science and engineering research groups focused on AI, cyber security, quantum technologies, advanced connectivity and engineering biology. The wider campus is expected to accommodate around 4,600 students and 650 staff, plus a start-up and industry hub, as part of a £500 million university investment supported by £35 million from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. Directly outside, Network Rail's new eastern entrance to Temple Meads creates a purpose-built gateway between the station and the innovation district. The £23 million entrance, the first of three planned access points, extends the passenger subway under the tracks and opens onto the campus forecourt, with Network Rail forecasting 2.5 million users a year by 2030 as part of a long-term programme to double capacity at the South West's busiest station. Funding came from a £94.7 million government grant to WECA for station improvements and public realm. Completing the trio, a new floating harbour walkway, backed by more than £4m from WECA, stitches together the station entrance, TQEC and Temple Quay, improving pedestrian and cycle links across the eastern edge of the city centre. Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin said the programme would 'pave the way for tens of thousands of new homes and new jobs', while Rail Minister Lord Hendy highlighted the £95 million of government backing helping deliver 22,000 jobs and thousands of homes across the wider Temple Quarter scheme. University vice-chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch called TQEC a 'new chapter' in transforming Bristol into a globally competitive innovation region, and Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer said the three projects demonstrated how 'thoughtful investment in infrastructure and public spaces can bring different parts of the city closer together'. With a new masterplan for St Philip's Marsh in train and further station entrances and a transport hub due to start on site later this year, the triple opening looks set to be a launchpad rather than a finale for one of the UK's most ambitious urban regeneration programmes.