Bristol warehouse in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone pleased to see continuing progress

In the March 2011 Budget, George Osborne announced the creation of 21 enterprise zones, including one in the area around Temple Meads in Bristol. The idea was that relaxing planning rules would attract businesses to regenerate areas. And allowing businesses rates to be reinvested in the infrastructure would create a virtuous circle, making it easier to unlock private funding.

There’s certainly plenty in the pipeline – a major overhaul of Temple Meads station and a new arena accessed by an £11 million bridge. But lots has already happened, too. The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership is co-ordinating activity in the zone and has published a plan to create 17,000 jobs within it.

James Durie, of Business West, is a board member of the LEP. He points to the Engine Shed business centre as a terrific example of what could be achieved in the zone. The £1.7 million innovation centre opened in December, bringing a raft of new and exciting companies. ”That’s the place where we take all the dignitaries to show off the area,” said James. There have been a few, including several Government ministers and a least one royal. As a creative hub, it has been a great showcase for our economy,” added James. “It’s also a showing the kind of space we think will be in demand. The creative and tech industries want a more informal space which engineers those accidental collisions between businesses, universities, representatives of the council.”

While the Engine Shed is attracting most of the VIPs and media attention, a development just across Station Approach is perhaps more significant. It took a £7 million private sector investment by office space provider TCN to create Temple Studios, another trendy office environment packed with creative businesses. It houses around 150 people working for a host of firms, from architects to web designers, music producers to marketing agencies. And while the work behind the scenes by the LEP, the city council and Invest in Bristol and Bath is important, in the end the success or otherwise of the zone will be determined by whether private investors can make a profit.

Network Rail’s planned reconfiguration of Temple Meads station and other infrastructure improvements are critical for making sure people can move around easily. And, of course, the long-awaiting concert arena will be important, too. There are a number of empty units for restaurants, bars and shops, including on the ground floor of Burges Salmon’s own office. When these and places like them are full, it will start to bring the area to life. But that won’t happen until it makes business sense for retailers to move in.

Whether it is students, residents, businesses or, more likely, a mix of them all, the zone needs people to grow. It has momentum. Tenants already within it rave about the links to London for customers and the advantages of being near other creative businesses. Electrification of the rail line, cutting the journey to Paddington to one hour and 20 minutes, will help.

But the zone needs to build on that and keep moving forward, both on the big projects, such as the sorting office, and the smaller ones, such as a place for hip young professionals to network over a beer.

Source: Bristol Post