Delivering a mixed-use development on a key site in Gloucester City Centre

Quayside and Blackfriars, Gloucester

The Quayside and Blackfriars site in Gloucester City Centre has been underused for many years, despite the production of various vision and masterplan documents. The site formed an unattractive ‘gap’ in the fabric of the city centre—it was a high priority for regeneration for both Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucester City Council, joint owners of the site.

The site is subject to significant constraints—namely archaeology, flooding, and contamination. A strong delivery strategy was required to bring forward regeneration and provide a positive legacy for Gloucester City Centre. To achieve this, our team recommended to Gloucester County Council that a local development order (LDO) would be a suitable planning tool to bring development forward on the site. Subsequently, we were commissioned to prepare the LDO and accompanying design guide, alongside a suite of technical reports to create a viable scheme for the site and clear delivery strategy.

We also established monthly steering group and stakeholder meetings to disseminate information with key parties and undertook member and officer training in relation to LDOs and the specifics of the site. The LDO was granted approval by the Secretary of State in April 2017, making way for multimillion-pound development scheme allowing the city to bring an underused and undervalued area back to life.