Bristol Temple Island £350m hotel and homes plan agreed with council

A firm has agreed to invest £350m to build hundreds of homes in Bristol on land previously earmarked for an arena.

The development, next to Bristol Temple Meads railway station, has been at the centre of a political wrangle for a number of years.

Temple Island had originally included plans for an arena but Legal and General said it had "agreed terms" with Bristol City Council to build a hotel, conference centre and 550 new homes.

A public consultation is expected.

The financial firm said over the coming months it wanted to "understand residents, businesses and community groups' aspirations for the site" .

Nigel Wilson, from Legal and General, said its "vision" would not only "meet an urgent local need" but would "support new ways of living" post-pandemic.

The agreement with the city council includes a large capacity conference centre and exhibition space, a 345-room hotel, 550 new homes - including 220 new affordable homes - and two office buildings.

Mayor Marvin Rees said the investment would deliver a "much needed boost to jobs and economic growth" in the city as "we recover from the pandemic".

"The development in Temple Quarter will deliver affordable homes that will play a significant role in bringing people and families to the city centre," he said.

But previous Bristol mayor and architect, George Ferguson, criticised the plans and said it would add to a wider problem in the city of "excessive height of buildings in historic areas".

He said: "I don't think it's appropriate that we have these really high buildings in Bristol within view of places like St Mary Redcliff and Temple Meads Station."

In response, Legal and General's head of public sector partnerships, Pete Gladwell, said: "Legal and General stewards over 100,000 people's pensions in the Bristol area.

"With respect, I won't really listen to one person's view over those 100.000 people.

"The design is not finalised," Mr Gladwell continued.

"We're not going to be tone deaf and there's clearly demand for housing and affordable housing in particular."

Proposals for an arena project next to Temple Meads were first mooted in 2003 but were beset by delays and rising costs and then dropped.

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