Great Western Coffee Shop

Competing bids to build an indoor 15,000 seater music and sport arena in Bristol have been unveiled.

The plans, put together by rival developers, comprise building it close to Temple Meads railway station or near Bristol City's proposed new stadium.

The council says by having the arena and football ground in the same place, transport plans could be shared.

But architect George Ferguson - backing the Temple Meads plan - said the Ashton Vale site would be too car-dependent.

Councillor Simon Cook, deputy leader of Bristol City Council, said having the venue next to the football ground made sense. "It would be very compatible because it can use the same infrastructure, the same transport plan - the bus rapid transit is going around the stadium with a commuter line straight into the city," he said. "Everything is there for the arena to make sense."

But Mr Ferguson disagreed and said an arena that depends on thousands of customers driving to it would be a "dinosaur model". "To a certain extent that would be the model of one set next to the A370," he said. His plan involves land close to Bristol Temple Meads train station, which is close to where similar plans fell through several years ago. Mr Ferguson said this venue would be a bigger development of land around the station, which includes the old Royal Mail Depot.

Bristol City FC, who have hosted music concerts at Ashton Gate, have not commented on the idea of the arena alongside their proposed new ground at Ashton Vale.

Currently, the city's biggest music venue is the Colston Hall, which can hold about 2,000 people.

It's an eyesore building which passengers arriving at Bristol Temple Meads railway station have been greeted with for the past 12 years.

Now councillors and an MP have called for action to be taken over the derelict former Royal Mail sorting office in Cattle Market Road.

The prominent building has been empty since Royal Mail vacated it and moved to Filton in 1997, and remains undeveloped despite planning permission being granted in 2005 to turn it into flats, workspaces and offices.

Over the years, the building has fallen into despair, attracted vandals and drug addicts and even became the scene of a serious accident in 2005, when Bedminster teenager Daniel Jones fell 20ft through a glass roof while playing in the building.

Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy and city councillors for the Lawrence Hill ward, Susan O'Donnell and Brenda Hugill, say the Seventies building has now been left to rot for too long.

It is understood archaeological digs and clearance work has taken place on the site in recent years, but demolition has not begun.

Labour MP Ms McCarthy said: "It's an eyesore and doesn't create a very good impression of Bristol when you arrive on the train. It's prime land and should be used for something. It's completely going to waste. Should we talk about a compulsory purchase?"

She added: "It would make a big difference to Cattle Market Road if it were developed. There's a derelict pub there and it's become a dingy back street along the Feeder, when it could be a lovely part of the city."

Councillor Hugill said: "It's always sad when buildings are left empty and become eyesores. When developers get planning permission, they should act on it and not leave it hanging, which makes the city look poorer. The developers should have a sense of pride about the city they are developing."

Councillor O'Donnell said: "It's annoying a prime site like that is being left undeveloped. I understand it's difficult to get resources for developments at the moment because of the recession, but there have been plenty of opportunities historically to get this turned into something useful and attractive."

Shepherdess Holdings' sister company Media Office bought the site for ^2 million in 2000. It outbid the South West Regional Development Agency, which wanted the site for the doomed Bristol Arena project.

Media Office won planning permission to convert the site into 107 flats, seven studio workspaces, walkways and offices in 2005.

According to the Land Registry, the site is now owned by Kian Gwan Land Limited, which bought it for ^5.3 million in May last year. KGLL was unavailable for comment.

Kate Hartas, spokeswoman for the city council, said it had this month agreed to sell off a small piece of land it owned in front of the former sorting office to the developer.

Mike Ford: Bristol eyesore is a nightmare of concrete and broken economy

More than three million passengers arrive into Bristol Temple Meads every year, and what view awaits them when pulling into one of the grandest stations in the whole of Europe?

The old Royal Mail building which stands there looming on the horizon like a haunted house in Chernobyl, a nightmare of concrete and broken economy.

With this in mind, it was pleasing to hear that councillors were calling to knock it down last week, until we actually heard what they were saying.

Instead of setting into motion some action, the councillors were doing what they do best.

Procrastinating and talking of how it was "annoying" no one has taken the initiative to turn it "into something useful and attractive."

Initiative? Isn't it the job of the council to get things moving? Who are they relying on to do their job for them? It is a no-brainer for them to at least knock it down, thus attracting developers to the site.

As many people have stated, it's an area that benefits from great transport links, a central location, and, of course, is on the riverside. But as usual, our council needs an electric shock from a cattle prod to prompt them into action.

Perhaps they should look at the dramatic change one can see when travelling into Bristol by coach these days.

What a transformation from the previously dull mile of shame that was the bottom of the M32 to the bus station, the grey depression of the buildings making you feel as if the coach were taking you to the Gulag.

I don't understand how some parts of our city are so great, and others are left to rot due to council laziness and inaction.

Case in point: our local rail network. The council's arrogant and frankly berserk decision to constantly overlook the fact that we have a complete local rail infrastructure already in place to run cheap and regular local trains quite frankly astonishes me. These lines can service everywhere locally from Severn Beach to Keynsham, and are ready to be used tomorrow with a little station renovation.

If only the council would listen to great people like those of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) group, who are still pushing for local rail services to be restored to over 15 stations, as well as the increase of services to the existing, barely-used, crumbling stations that First "Great" Western put out as a token gesture. We have watched our council be pushed around by First while they destroyed our bus routes, and within a few years what little rail service we have will be gone too.

The council evidently needs its hands to be held at every stage. A cleaner, more efficient (and cooler) transport system is sitting on our doorstep begging to be used. Get behind FOSBR and berate the council into action. Either that, or buy a cattle prod. It's cathartic.

I have seldom seen a building so comprehensively vandalised.  Not just a bit of graffiti and a few broken windows it is systematic dismantlement! It the scrotes continue the building will not need demolising.

I wonder if the railway should take the initiative in redeveloping the site.  There would be space for another platform or two to ease capacity and how about an entrance on that side of the station?

I know it is all about money but I'd hate to see a rush to develop the site resulting in something being put up that permanantly boxes the railway in and makes future expansion (or other transport initiatives such as trams, buses or even just a bigger station car park) difficult.   At a minimum the overhead convoyors could be removed to open up the platforms.  That would help to dissociate the railway from the sorting office.

The front of BTM could do with some TLC as well.  there is still the derilict pub and bridge mess on the roundabout at the bottom of the ramp where there used to be a railway overbridge taking the line down to the harbour railway (I assume). 

Why are so many station in run-down parts of cities?

It's less of an eyesore than what faces you when you walk out of Reading station...

Or Cardiff

Or New Street

or a great many other major stations

Because people used to live in cities and generally did not want to be near a railway

I think the problem is it is a listed building can you believe it !!!!

No I don't. Can't see the former sorting office on any lists of listed buildings in Bristol.

Where did you get your info.  On checking the Bristol council site they say that there 4500 listed buildings in Bristol.  They have a list of the grade I but to find out if a building is grade II you have to email them.

Wikipedia shows 120 building out of a total of 4500.  Thats seems pretty incomplete to me ;D

I think the problem is it is a listed building can you believe it !!!!

Why cant they be more progressive in this Country and build something new at Bristol, Reading or wherever like

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

http://www.hbf-berlin.de/site/berlin__hauptbahnhof/en/start.html

Work planned for derelict Bristol Royal Mail building

Building work to transform a derelict former Royal Mail sorting office in Bristol could begin in the autumn, the BBC has learned.

The block near Temple Meads railway station, on Cattle Market Road, has been empty for the past 14 years.

Developers Kian Gwan Land gained planning consent for the work in 2005 but are reapplying as that permission lapsed several years ago.

The first tenants are due to move in six months after work starts.

The first company to confirm it is moving to the site is music firm Vinyl Factory.

The owners are planning to use the ground floor of the building with recording studios, offices and exhibition space.

Mark Wadhwa, from Vinyl Factory, said discussions over the move had been "going on for a long time".

He said: "Quite a lot of work has been going on to strip it out and there's been a lot of environmental work going on in terms of tags [graffiti] which needed to be removed.

"The landlords are encouraging independent tenants to kickstart the development.

"They've committed to skin the building, landscape it and create a social enterprise centre."

Local councillor Brenda Hugill said she welcomed the news.

She said: "It really is a good story in and otherwise difficult time in the city."

"Turn former sorting office into car park for Bristol^s new arena"

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The former sorting office

A pressure group is calling on the city council to knock down one of the city^s most notorious eyesore buildings and use the land as a car park for the planned indoor arena.

The Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance presented its plans for the former Royal Mail sorting office at a city council scrutiny meeting. The group is keen to get its voice heard as part of the plans to redevelop the area around Temple Meads railway station are being developed.

As reported in the Bristol Post the council is working on a scheme to build an ^80 million indoor arena on vacant land adjacent to Temple Meads station. If all goes to plan work on the long-awaited arena could get under way as early as 2017.

At the moment the scheme does not include car parking and the plan is to use a park and ride scheme to bus in visitors. However, the Alliance claim this would be a major mistake and would make the arena unattractive to potential operators and customers. The alliance believes the solution would be to use a Compulsory Purchase Order to buy the derelict sorting office and then turn it into a car park.

The building dominated the approach to Temple Meads station and has been left to fall into ruin ever since Royal Mail moved out to its new modern sorting office in Filton. Talks have been taking place between the owners of the building, the city council and the Local Enterprise Partnership in a bid to come up with a use for the empty building.

The Bristol Post understands that the council and the LEP is considering using a CPO to take control of the situation if a solution cannot be agreed. A spokesman for the group said: ^We would wish to see an agreement drawn up where rail parking is combined with parking for the stadium site on the other side of the River Avon. A preferable site for a car park would be the GPO site accessed from Cattle Market Road, and might be best as a multi-storey. This would achieve several things: ease pressure upon the Friary; create easy car user access to the planned underground station concourse, and achieve parking for the future stadium. A financial agreement between the city and Network Rail would be necessary but if necessary the land should be subject to a CPO.^

The group is also calling on the planned redevelopment of Temple Meads station to include a purpose-built bus-rail interchange. The interchange would connect the rail and bus services in the city along with the new Metrobus system.

David Wood, RMTU, Bristol: Derelict Mail building gives terrible first impression

It looks likely that the future of the derelict Royal Mail building next to Temple Meads station could be decided once and for all in a few months.

I find it incredible that for 15 years this building has stood untouched and allowed to fall into disrepair. It looks like something from a war zone.

Having worked on the railway for almost 34 years and regularly worked on the track in and around Temple Meads I can remember when the Royal Mail building was a hive of activity. But these days what remains of the building looks appalling.

Passengers on High Speed Trains to and from Paddington get a first-hand view of this run-down shell, because First Great Western 125s use the platforms which are closest to the old sorting office. Platform 13 is a terminus platform and used by most trains from Paddington. Platform 15 is used by most trains also from Paddington that continue westwards to Weston-super-Mare and beyond.

People aboard get an unenviable close-up of this eye-sore. What message is this sending out to people about the image of Bristol? What ever happened to the saying ^Ship-shape and Bristol fashion^?

Added to which Bristol is the green capital of Europe in 2015. Not that many years ago Temple Meads was nick-named Temple Weeds because of all the neglected vegetation allowed to grow at the track-side.

These days the railway is a magnet for graffiti artists. From Doctor Day^s Junction about a quarter of a mile from Temple Meads to Lawrence Hill station in the cutting supported by retaining walls. It reminds me of American television programmes where you see graffiti plastered everywhere just like in the Bronx, New York.

Hundreds of millions of pounds is going to be pumped into redeveloping Temple Meads station. That^s wonderful news. And if the old Cattle Market Road sorting office is demolished that will make the entire area look better.

But we must not neglect what is on the rails. Our local lines are currently served by dated, hand-me-down trains sent to us from other areas of the country that have new trains.

It is quite obvious to me great strides of improvement need to be made to our local railways, that over the years have suffered from a chronic lack of investment. Sadly we continue to suffer the consequences.

Meanwhile the privatised railway has brought us: The highest fares in Europe, staff cuts, a complex fare structure and overcrowded trains.

Competition to design new Bristol arena

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Bristol arena aerial view

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Competitions and Bristol City Council have announced an international competition to design the city's new arena.

It is anticipated the arena, to be located on the former diesel depot site close to Temple Meads railway station, will open in 2017.

Multi-disciplinary teams will have the opportunity to design the 12,000 capacity entertainment venue.

Bristol's mayor George Ferguson said: "We have to grasp the opportunity to design a building that not only works really effectively but is an inspiring place that enriches this new quarter of the city. I want the Bristol Arena to become the arena of choice for performers, as well as offering an excellent visitor experience. As an architect I recognise that the design of the building is critical in achieving this."

Fears for Bristol's long-awaited arena after questions raised about financing

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An early illustration of how the new Bristol Arena could look

A ^10 million "black hole" has emerged in the budget for Bristol's arena, it has been claimed. Concerns centre on how much money can be raised towards the cost of the ^90 million project from car parking.

A new report shows parking facilities at the 12,000-capacity venue hang in the balance, as an adequate site is yet to be found. The report also shows that costs for a proposed 1,000-space car park have spiralled, while predicted revenue has fallen.

The city's Liberal Democrats say the report has uncovered a "black hole" in the scheme's finances.

There is already mounting pressure on parking around the Arena Island area due to the predicted growth of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

The council needs to balance the arena's budget before building the venue, which is due to open in 2017.

City mayor George Ferguson said steps were being taken to address the gap and rejected the Lib Dems' claims, saying: "It is irresponsible nonsense to talk of a 'black hole'."

The mayor has made it one of his key targets to create a much-needed venue for the city.

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Kent had accused the mayor of "taking his eye off the finances", warning the city that it "cannot blindly walk into this project with millions of pounds missing".

Car parking facilities were written in to the budget for the multi-purpose venue last October. Initially it was estimated that about ^1.5 million of revenue per year would be made from parking fees from events and use of the car park during the day by commuters.

But a review has seen the council revise the figures. A multi-storey car park is now seen as too expensive, while even a surface-level car park may not be used for commuter parking ^ as it is "against planning policy", the review said.

Councillors discussing the report at a scrutiny meeting also raised concerns about ^53 million of funding coming from the government's City Deal scheme. The money would be borrowed and will depend on the growth of the enterprise zone.

Mr Kent, a ward councillor for Whitchurch Park who sits on the council's Business Change and Resources Scrutiny Commission, said: "I have a real concern that the budget is spiralling out of control. These things don't come for free but the mayor cannot expect the residents of Bristol to write a blank cheque. He's talking big ideas but taken his eye off the finances. We need a business plan that adds up and that is affordable for the city. The shortfall in the council's finances will have an effect on the future of the arena. We cannot blindly walk into this project with millions of pounds missing. The figures must add up and we need to make sure the funding is in place."

More reports have been ordered looking to find a solution.

Bristol mayor George Ferguson said: "The ^90 million-plus project budget for the arena is based on a business case report but, as with all large projects, it is inevitable that there will be variances as we test some of the assumptions made in that report... However it must be understood that this is a long term investment that will break even over the 25-year life of the project and will deliver millions of pounds of investment to the city region. It is irresponsible nonsense to talk of a ^black hole^. The arena has been a long-held aspiration for the city that we are now well on the way to delivering. We are taking the necessary steps to address any potential gaps in funding whilst remaining completely committed to delivering this vitally important venue, that is a major catalyst for the regeneration of the enterprise zone and the wider city region.^

Council handed land for Bristol Arena by the government

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The arena will be located on the former diesel depot site next to Bristol Temple Meads railway station and is set to open in 2017

Bristol's ^91m entertainment arena has taken another step forward after the land for the site was formally handed over to the city council.

The agreement will also see ^5.4m of government funding to the city to help develop other sites within the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

Bristol's mayor George Ferguson described the deal as a "vital step".

Earlier this month Populous was chosen to build the 12,000-seat venue which is due to open in 2017.

The company which is behind the London Olympic Stadium and the O2 arenas in London, Berlin and Dublin, was chosen from a shortlist of five.

The arena will be located on the former diesel depot site next to Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

The site was previously owned by the government's Homes and Communities Agency, which makes homes and business premises available to communities, and is part of a wider transfer of about ^300m of land.

Bristol 'eyesore' sorting office site bought by council

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Bristol City Council has bought an eyesore site in the city centre, which it says will be key to one of the UK's largest urban regeneration projects.

The former sorting office site has been derelict for more than 17 years.

The mayor said the site presented an "awful arrival" for people coming in to Temple Meads station and buying it was vital to transforming the area.

The Taxpayers' Alliance has criticised Bristol's "extraordinary" commercial property portfolio.

The acquisition of the 2.1 hectare (5.2 acre) former Royal Mail site, close to the planned ^91m arena, is seen as a key site in the Bristol Temple Enterprise Zone.

Bristol Mayor George Ferguson told BBC Bristol it had cost "under ^6m" and marked a "real step change" in the transformation of the area behind Temple Meads station.

"It's been one of my main aims to deal with this terrible eyesore, this awful arrival to Bristol. When you're entering a wonderful city like Bristol from London on the Great Western Railway, you expect a much better arrival."

The Taxpayers' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, says the council owns buildings housing a nightclub, 25 restaurants, 22 farms and 198 shops, following a Freedom of Information request.

Spokesman Tim Newark said: "It seems ridiculous at a time when Bristol City Council is pleading poverty and putting up Council Tax that it is sitting on commercial property assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds."

Mr Ferguson said property was "a very important part of our holdings and that actually enables us to keep the taxes lower than they might otherwise be".

No 'expensive' new car park for Bristol Arena

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The council estimates there will be about 20 "full-capacity" events per year

Plans for a new ^91m entertainment arena being built in Bristol will not include an "expensive" dedicated car park, the council has said.

Two planning applications for the Bristol Arena, a 12,000-seat venue set to open in 2017 near Temple Meads, are to be submitted next month.

People living nearby raised concerns about parking but the council said city centre car parks had "spare capacity, within a 20 minute walk of the arena".

A consultation closes on 13 October.

Paul Breedon lives in nearby Totterdown and runs community magazine South Bristol Voice. He said he was not against the arena, but when he had asked local people about their concerns, they replied "parking, parking, parking". "Some of the closest places you will be able to park on the street are in Totterdown and the worry is that there's no plan at the moment," Mr Breedon said.

Peter Mann, of Bristol City Council, said: "Building a car park next to the arena will send all the wrong messages about the sustainability of it. So using public transport, cycling and walking and investing in that side of it, rather than building an expensive car park."

Mayor George Ferguson said parking for disabled people and operators would be provided but visitors would be "encouraged to travel to the venue sustainably". He said: "Of course, I absolutely respect that Totterdown have got parking pressure and I've had a lot of people from Totterdown already, because of commuter parking, saying we should have a residents' parking scheme, and we might do that.

"This is for the end of 2017, early 2018, by which time we'll have the Metrobus and have made arrangements with Great Western for additional trains for major events.

"This is not a parking story, it's a story about fantastic regeneration for Bristol."

Bristol will need to adapt to an arena

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Arena would change Bristol traffic

Commuters in Bristol are being warned to expect a period of adjustment when the city's new arena opens. Craig Jones writes for What's On.

Tim Banfield, commercial director of The ACC Liverpool Group, which oversees Liverpool's Echo Arena, said it'll take some time for a flow to emerge.

Bristol's venue is expected to have a 12,000 capacity, like its Liverpool counterpart, although on-site parking will differ significantly.

Here there is expected to be 245 car parking spaces while in Liverpool the venue has 1,600 spaces.

Mr Banfield said: "My personal view is having a car park on site is a massive asset, especially during the winter, and it can also suit different event requirements. Having a car park was always part of the plan for us but that was because it was cost effective and we already had the land to work with. This isn't always the case in some locations."

He said it is essential that arenas work with their city's highways teams to ensure traffic around the venues runs as smoothly as possible.

Mr Banfield said: "After a period of time a balance emerges with people parking on-site, elsewhere in the city centre or getting public transport. After a period of time everything finds a level."

SMG Europe, which oversees arenas in Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, is the preferred bidder for the Bristol project and they are optimistic it will be a success.

John Sharkey, SMG Europe's executive vice president of European operations, said: "Working alongside our partners Live Nation we'll ensure Bristol Arena becomes the world class entertainment venue the city deserves. With Bristol's rich musical heritage, and a passionate audience across the South West, we're looking forward to adding Bristol Arena to the map of must-play destinations for international acts."

The arena is expected to open near Temple Meads station in the next four years.

Temporary Bristol move for Parliament 'too expensive'

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The design for the new parliament shows a hill that visitors "are invited to scale" and "look down into the speaker's theatre"

A proposal to move Parliament to Bristol while the Palace of Westminster is refurbished has been dismissed by an MP.

North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg - who sits on the committee reviewing the future of the 150-year-old building - said the idea is too expensive.

He said finding a temporary London home for MPs with offices in the Palace of Westminster would be cheaper.

A design firm floated the idea to provoke debate around devolved power.

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The former Royal Mail sorting offices have been derelict for 17 years

Christophe Egret of Studio Egret West, the firm behind the proposal, said: "It has been done to try to make people think about not investing all power in London and divesting it around the country."

The proposal would see the former Royal Mail sorting office behind Temple Meads railway station transformed into a new parliament.

The derelict building has been described by the Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson as something that "shames and embarrasses Bristol".

On a visit to the city, Prime Minister David Cameron said it looked like "a war zone".

The design for the new parliament shows a hill that visitors "are invited to scale" and "look down into the speakers' theatre".

A recent report suggested the cost of restoring Palace of Westminster without finding a new home for resident MPs and peers would cost ^5.7bn and take 32 years.

The Palace of Westminster only has enough office space for about a third of all MPs.

Mr Rees-Mogg said: "Parliament needs to be where the government is. The new home would have to be near, otherwise you'd have to move all 650 MPs and that's a much bigger and more expensive undertaking."

Stick the 650 in the building as it is. Austerity and all that. We're all in it together, as our elected representatives have been keen to tell us.

Who^d want to be an MP in a sorting office in Bristol?

The Palace of Westminster is practically falling down. It^s riddled with leaks and infested with vermin. Whole toxic sections urgently need to be removed for everyone^s good. After decades of poor planning and quick, botched fixes, it^s badly decayed and it^s going to cost a fortune to put things right.

I expect your leaden-analogy alarm has already gone off. Lots of people are absolutely thrilled with the old palace^s decrepitude as a metaphor for ^our broken politics^. Do you know what I think is a really good metaphor for the state of Britain today? It^s people enjoying that metaphor. It^s the tedious satisfaction they derive from likening one building^s need of repair to the decline in public trust suffered by the political system for which it houses key functions; the inwardly delighted wry shake of the head at that slow-news-week-political-cartoon quantity of wit and insight. Honestly, it makes me want to join Isis.

The fact remains, however, that coincident with this phase of widespread disappointment with our government and legislators, the structure in which their business is transacted has started to crumble. The stonework has badly eroded, the heating and plumbing keep breaking down and apparently not a single one of the 3,800 windows closes properly ^ which, in terms of sheer consistency, is analogous to absolutely nothing else in our political culture.

The public could stare down at them having their rows like angry hobbits in a special arguing burrow
The obvious solution to this problem ^ just letting the building gradually fall in on them all ^ has been rejected on the basis that it would ^reward poor parliamentary attendance^. So a consensus has emerged that the palace needs to be restored. Of course that^s not to say there^s a consensus that it should continue to house parliament ^ some argue that its Victorian public school/gentlemen^s club vibe is so inappropriate to a modern democracy that it should be turned into a museum. But I suspect even those people think it should be a structurally sound museum.

So it^s going to be repaired, and it^s almost certainly not going to be turned into a museum ^ partly because that would necessitate building a whole other giant palace for the Houses of Parliament, with all the ill-fitting windows, enormous digital clock towers and statues of Tony Blair that that would entail; and partly because saying ^The Palace of Westminster should be turned into a museum!^ is such a big part of the identity and cocktail-party-opening-gambit technique of the idea^s adherents that actually turning the place into a museum would leave a gaping hole in their lives, which social services would then struggle to fill.

But doing the place up, I^m afraid to say, is going to be expensive ^ a report last June estimated it would cost ^5.7bn, and that figure is set to double when it turns out they were just guessing. Alternatively, and this is where it gets interesting (nearly halfway through, this week ^ I swear I^m getting worse), it could be slashed to a piffling ^3.5bn if the parliamentarians agree to fully vacate the place for six years. Basically, it^s a lot cheaper to renovate without loads of politicians obstructing proceedings. The politicians just get in the way of people trying to do their jobs and make things better. Has that alarm gone off again?

So where would they move to? George Ferguson, who^s the mayor of Bristol, has a proposal: Bristol. There^s a derelict Royal Mail sorting office round the back of the station that he says would be perfect. Architectural firm Studio Egret West proposes to transform it into a sort of hill which members of the public could climb and then stare down at the politicians having their rows like angry hobbits in a special arguing burrow. Except they won^t be having rows because ^the debating chamber, inspired by the idea of a clearing in the woods, encourages a less combative approach to government business with opportunities for better cross-party cooperation^. Much more like elves then. Lovely.

I^m slightly sceptical of the view that sitting our MPs in a different arrangement will make their deliberations more constructive. It^s usually put forward by those who dismiss the shouty House of Commons as medieval and pantomimic. It has definitely become a bit of a parody of its former self, which is a shame, but I^m not sure that having our politicians yell and hurl abuse at each other in public isn^t, for a repressed nation such as ours, rather a healthy convention. It^s the vestigial remains of something honest and, as such, is one of the few elements of contemporary politics that I^d say was worth preserving.

It^s not as if an assembly of hundreds of people can ever have particularly detailed discussions anyway. It^s got to be fairly binary: do we agree with Thing A or not. So I don^t see that the shouting of ^Hear hear!^ or ^Shame!^ is any less effective than those beige semicircles of desks and microphones that other countries seem to favour. And it^s definitely more interesting.

My reservations about the woodland clearing approach to parliamentary debate aside, these plans look quite fun. There are some nice dynamic drawings online, promising restaurants and cafes as well as committee rooms and a library. There^s even a ^tranquil space^, right by the railway line ^ which suggests that, for all the blue-sky thinking, they^re not holding out much hope that the train service is going to improve.

But the sad thing about this idea is that, charming though that derelict sorting office covered in turf might be, getting to hang out in the Palace of Westminster is MPs^ last remaining perk. Once high-status pillars of the community, the nation^s representatives have seldom been held in lower regard ^ and the internet is there to bring all that negativity relentlessly to bear. But they still have their massive neogothic palace to run around in, drinking cheap booze and shouting at each other on television. It^s like a wonderful cross between Hogwarts and the Big Brother house.

So can you imagine what a slap in the face from history it would feel like if, as a newly elected MP in 2020, you realised you weren^t even going to get that? You were going to get all the abuse and disdain, the endless scrutiny of personal financial details and property arrangements, the daily grind of trying to court the lobbyist^s dime while persuading international corporations to close their factories in other people^s constituencies first, but without messing around in a magical castle. It would be like working for Disneyland, but in the complaints department.

Get it sorted: Petition launched calling on Bristol council to deal with city centre eyesore

It is one of the biggest eyesores in Bristol and it is one of the first sights to greet the thousands of rail passengers who arrive in the city every day.

The former sorting office has been left standing empty for almost two decades and is a graffiti covered wreck overlooking a derelict industrial wasteland.

David Cameron visited the site when he was prime minister after it was announced that the area was at the heart of the new enterprise zone but the intervening years there has been no sign of any progress.

And now a petition has been launched calling on the city council to finally deal with problem which has vexed politicians for the last 18 years.

The concrete shell was bought by the council three years ago in a £5.4 million deal but there is still no sign of any real progress being made on the very public blot on the landscape.

The former owners - a development company based in the Far East - were locked in negotiations with the council for years over the future of the site.

The former sorting office is in a prime position overlooking what will eventually be the home of Bristol's much needed and long-awaited indoor arena.

As reported in the Bristol Post the city's mayor Marvin Rees recently announced that he is aiming to have the arena open for business by 2019 but there are still no signs of what will happen to the abandoned sorting office.

Ben Moss has launched the petition which has been labelled get it sorted and 300 people have already added their signatures. He said: "The Council has budgeted up to £2m for the Sorting Office's demolition with the aspiration to develop a high quality commercially led, high density mixed use development that re-imagines this high profile, strategically significant site.

"The public ownership of the iconic former Sorting Office makes it a community asset and affords Bristol a unique opportunity to pursue a development which meets the needs and aspirations of the people of Bristol. By replacing 'commercially led' with 'community led', the site could become a vision worthy of our city, meeting Bristol's needs as defined not by commercial boundaries alone, but by the community who own it."

He added: "Rather than commercially-led overpriced flats, half-empty office blocks, and national chain stores; could we see community-led council housing, food production and eating, local shops and makers, learning centres, social enterprise, reuse of resources, renewable energy, sustainable transport, art and performance, beautiful spaces and more?

"So far, public involvement in determining the future of this publicly owned building and site has been practically non-existent. The council have only consulted on a 'Spatial Framework'' for the totality of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, and there has never been a full public consultation on plans for the Cattle Market site itself.

"As a public asset, shouldn't we, the community, lead its future? A genuine process of engagement, involvement and collaboration with the city's residents, community stakeholders, progressive thinkers and academics, would result in a creative, pioneering and shared vision - truly representative of both the progressive nature of our city and its needs."

The petition can be found here (https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/bristol-s-sorting-office-get-it-sorted?source=facebook-share-button&time=1475962188).

From the Bristol Post (http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/get-it-sorted-petition-launched-calling-on-bristol-council-to-deal-with-city-centre-eyesore/story-29802050-detail/story.html):

Rather a 'hippy commune' than more office space to lay empty or expensive flats that go unsold for years, thanks.

Social housing should be the starting point. 

Presumably there will be a new entrance to Temple Meads on that side of the station?

Council to earn up to £16million by selling off old sorting office for new Bristol University campus

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The sorting office has stood empty for years

Councillors are set to decide on a landmark deal with Bristol University on their new Temple Quarter campus.

As announced by the Bristol Post last year, the university has bid to take over the old Royal Mail sorting office near Temple Meads station.

The building has set derelict for more than a decade, and will be knocked down for the new £300 million campus for 5,000 students.

Bristol City Council's cabinet will meet next Tuesday, to consider the deal.

If agreed, the council will sell off their freehold interest and the remaining land on Arena Island that is not required for the new arena.

The net income for the council from the sale of the land is expected to be between £11million and £16million, once costs for land acquisition, remediation, demolition and other associated costs have been taken into account.

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Bristol Arena

The business incubator SetSquared in Engine Shed and the Engine Shed 2 development are also likely to form part of the broader campus.

This new campus is expected to include a business school and a student 'residential village'.

Sitting by Bristol Temple Meads station, it has provided an unwelcoming sight for travellers on trains pulling in to Temple Meads station for a generation.

It has been left empty since the Royal Mail left the site and moved to Filton in 1997. The huge building fell into disrepair, attracting squatters and vandals.

It became the site of a serious accident in 2005, when a 13-year-old boy fell 20ft through a glass roof while playing in the building. He landed on a concrete floor, fracturing his skull, and spent weeks in hospital afterwards.

In 2000, Shepherdess Holdings' sister company Media Office bought the site for £2 million, outbidding the former South West Regional Development Agency, which wanted it for the first Bristol Arena project.

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The old sorting office

Five years later, Media Office won planning permission to convert the site into 107 flats, seven studio workspaces, walkways and offices. But that plan never came to fruition and three years later it was bought by Malaysian investors the Kian Gwan Group.

In 2011, there were plans to encourage independent tenants to take leases on the property after the building was given a makeover by the owners - but the project came to nothing.

For years it stood empty, until Bristol City Council, under former Mayor George Ferguson, bought the site for £6million, using a £5.4 million grant from the Government.

The new campus will be "an important anchor" in the regeneration of the area, the council said.

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New campus for Bristol University

The business rate income from the university is likely to be lower than from a "purely commercial deal" it added, but said it would give "more certainty" to the development of the other sites.

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said: "This is an important deal for consideration by cabinet that could see the development of a major new campus for the University of Bristol and the acceleration of development in the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. The derelict land close to the station has been a blight on the city for too long, and this deal could offer an exceptional opportunity to create a flourishing and inclusive home of digital excellence, innovation, education and industry. It could also bring forward more quickly jobs and opportunities for our citizens from other sites in the area."

If approved, full transfer of the land would take place once demolition of the former sorting office has been completed and Bristol University has received planning permission.

The building has set derelict for more than a decade ...

Shocking journalism.  ::)

The two sites are connected to the existing public transport interchange at Temple Meads Station via the recently upgraded Cattle Market Road and the proposed Harbour Walkway