Western Gateway welcomes Bristol Temple Quarter Levelling Up funding
Katherine Bennett OBE, Chair of the Western Gateway Partnership, welcomes the announcement of £95million funding from Government to transform the Bristol Temple Quarter following work by local partners - providing thousands of new homes and jobs and promising to better connect the wider region with funding for Temple Meads Station.
"I am delighted to see Government announce such significant investment to regenerate the Bristol Temple Quarter area last Friday which follows hard work by local partners including our Western Gateway board members, Mayors Marvin Rees and Dan Norris.
"Our Western Gateway area is a powerhouse for world leading industry, renowned universities, and highly innovative clusters. Despite relative prosperity, the area still has pockets of deprivation and growth has been held back by historic transport issues.
"This funding will be transformational for the area, helping to unlock productivity and creating thousands of jobs and access to housing for people across our area.
"Through contributing to the upgrade of Temple Meads Station, it will also help unlock opportunities across the Severn.
"The Western Gateway Partnership is committed to working together to better connect communities across our area we already know that there are roughly 80,000 journeys every day across the Severn Bridge as people travel for work, family, and leisure. This investment in the South West’s largest transport interchanges will mean commuters and families will be able to access improved sustainable transport options to access jobs and connect pockets of innovation across both England and Wales.
"Our partnership is currently mapping what our ‘ideal’ rail network might look like in 2050 to understand what gaps exist and to champion investment in a new infrastructure and service programme for the area. We look forward to launching this in the coming months.
"This funding follows work by local partners and provides a perfect example of how government funding can support the great innovation and productivity in our area, unlock opportunities and help the partnership with its mission to level up productivity and unlock a further £34billion for the UK economy.
"We look forward to meeting with ministers soon to discuss how we can build on this investment to unlock other opportunities across our area."
