Why Gloucester is closer than ever before to a new city centre
Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, on the bright future for Gloucester city centre:
So it is finally happening – we are signing a contract today with Stanhope Plc for them to deliver, in partnership with us, the £60million redevelopment of King's Quarter.
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Artist's impression of King's Quarter
There is, of course, a long way still to go on this journey.
This is the legal framework – or what has been colloquially termed our 'marriage contract.' Public consultation will take place, a planning application will need to be approved and the land package has to be put together before work can begin on the ground.
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So we still need to be patient. It will probably take some time before the bulldozers move in.
This aside, we have never been as close as we are now to seeing the heart of our historic city transformed.
This shows our commitment to improving the city centre – something which residents viewed as a high priority in the recent City Vision consultation.
In Stanhope we have a company with 25 years worth of development experience and which has delivered more than £10billion worth of projects around the country.
The project for King's Quarter will see a mix of exciting new shops, restaurants, public squares and a new bus station.
Over recent years more than £500million has been invested by developers in the city and there is a further £200million in the pipeline.
By continuing to attract investment on this scale, Gloucester is bucking the national trend.
Martyn Chase, a director of Stanhope's, said: "We are delighted to be working with Gloucester in the delivery of this key project for the city.
"On the back of the positive progress on the scheme to date, this agreement will enable us to move forward with confidence, and we look forward to developing our ideas with the local community, retailers and other key City stakeholders to ensure that King's Quarter further enhances the City"
Stanhope's commitment to this scheme and their willingness to work with us as a city council is evidence that they believe in Gloucester.
In the last two years alone more than 300 businesses have chosen to start up, relocate or expand their existing operations in the city.
They have all done their homework and made decisions based on sound commercial logic.
We have a great location, excellent educational facilities, a young growing population and a great workforce.
These are just a few of the things that attract businesses to Gloucester.
There are many others.
A lot of hard work still lies ahead to deliver King's Quarter successfully, but this latest step represents a significant milestone.
This project has been a tough nut to crack, but the fact we have got further now than ever before only strengthens our determination to make it happen.
* THE King’s Quarter will have 200,000 sq ft of retail development, 30 new shops, restaurants, new public squares and a new bus station.
In recent years there has been £500million worth of private sector investment in the city with a further £200million in the pipeline.
Gloucester is one of the UK’s top 10 historic destinations with 5.9 million annual visitor trips.
Those tourists spend £207 million a year.
Comments
by gloscityguy
Thursday, September 27 2012, 5:04PM
“the picture makes it look like a fancy car park, That area is already pretty bare, and no-one uses it unless there is a market being held.
I hope they think of the community and make it an area where people like to relax and enjoy being in Gloucester, rather than an empty grey space herding people into the shops”
by FreeRadical1
Thursday, September 27 2012, 4:08PM
“Is Paul going to slap a compulsory purchase order on the Golden Egg? I can see that one going to court, and Aviva have deep pockets...”
by Lecorche
Thursday, September 27 2012, 3:25PM
“I tend to take any statement by Paul James with a large pinch of salt.
I don't trust him or his version of the truth since car parking fees went up and he claimed the increases were actually a reduction.”
by Glawsterman
Thursday, September 27 2012, 11:46AM
“And in 5 years time the Citizen will still be reporting about the redevelopment starting.”
by Selector
Thursday, September 27 2012, 11:07AM
“Sorry to spoil the party Councillor James, but whilst you're playing the developer, that organisation that you preside over - Gloucester City Council I think they call it - just gets smaller and smaller and ever more insignificant. In case you hadn't noticed, there's a recession on, and people do not have the money to spend in even more shops. This Tory myth regarding stimulating the economy and creating jobs is just that - a myth. I haven't had a pay rise in three years, am at risk of redundancy, and am paying more and more in taxes, such as VAT, not to mention the rising cost of everything as inflation continues to climb. The only positive thing is that the interest rate is still at an all-time low, but the second that begins to rise, we're all doomed.
I really would rather you concentrated on delivering services, which is what people actually expect of their local council, and what you were elected for.”