The West of England Authority led by Metro Mayor Dan Norris has signed a £95.8 million pound deal with the government to revitalise the area around Brunel’s historic Bristol Temple Meads station and St Philip’s Marsh.
The Minister for Levelling Up Neil O’Brien MP, the Metro Mayor Dan Norris, Bristol City Council Mayor Marvin Rees and representatives from Homes England and Network Rail met at Temple Quarter to make the announcement.
The flagship project will see passengers use a brand-new entrance to Temple Meads, create 22,000 jobs, open up the opportunity to build 10,000 much-needed new homes and bring in an estimated £1.6 billion pounds into the region’s economy over 25 years.
West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris said:
“This is fantastic news for Bristol and the wider West of England region. After years of talking about it, I’m delighted the cash is winging its way to the West of England Combined Authority’s bank account ready to spend to put rocket boosters under this project. This is one of the most exciting regeneration projects in Europe. Now we need to deliver.
“The buildings and infrastructure must truly match our ambitions in tackling the climate emergency. The high skilled jobs we bring in need to use the skills of our amazingly talented workers. We need to keep on budget and on time. Bristolians will expect no less.
“This exciting project is also so important to put our area on the map. Just as people would have felt when it was first built, the refurbishment of Brunel’s iconic Bristol Temple Meads, will mean as the train pulls in everyone will think, ‘I’ve arrived somewhere special’ and they’ll be completely right.
“This project has been many years in the making with so many people and organisations playing their part along the way. I pay tribute to the work of Bristol Council led by Marvin Rees, Network Rail, Homes England and everyone on the Temple Quarter Strategic board for their efforts. But the hard work doesn’t stop now. We will be judged on how well we deliver. That’s ever so important to ensure that we can lever in even more money for prestigious and ambitious projects in the future that local people need and deserve.”