A “complex and ambitious” plan to build a short footpath behind Temple Meads is expected to cost £24,000 per metre – and incredible £10m. Bristol City Council is planning to build the Harbour Walkway, connecting the new University of Bristol campus with the ferry stop behind the train station.
But the 400-metre footpath is well over budget and years behind schedule, with an estimated cost of £9.7 million. The Liberal Democrats have criticised the “incredible waste of public money” under the former Labour mayor Marvin Rees.
An update on the expensive footpath will be given to councillors on the transport policy committee on Thursday, February 6. Labour hit back and said the Liberal Democrats needed to ‘get a grip’ on overspends of the wider Temple Quarter regeneration project.
Liberal Democrat councillor Nicholas Coombes, who sits on the committee, said: “This outrageous report demonstrates the wastefulness Bristol saw under the former Labour mayor. It is a scandal that a 400-metre path should have been allowed to cost the taxpayer close to £10 million, with no way out of the contract.
“Sadly, years of mismanagement under Bristol Labour means that this is just another failure inflicted upon the city by the unchecked and unaccountable former mayor. No wonder the council is struggling to close a massive budget deficit with this kind of financial inheritance.”
Some initial work can be seen, but the footpath is still a long time off being finally finished. The council is responsible for building the path, as a condition of the sale of the campus site to the university.
Cllr Coombes added: “After half a decade of this project in limbo, it is high time that yet another of Bristol Labour’s messes is cleaned up once and for all. The Liberal Democrats are calling for this project to be wrapped up, the path completed, and a stop to the spiralling costs.”
Responding to the criticism, Labour hailed the wider regeneration project around the station. The Temple Quarter project will see thousands of new homes, and was agreed while the former mayor was in power. A landslip of the river bank led to massive unforeseen cost increases.
A spokesperson for the Bristol Labour Group said: “We’re proud the Labour administration spearheaded the regeneration of Temple Quarter. As the largest regeneration project in Bristol’s history, it will provide 10,000 new homes, 22,000 new jobs and a £1.6 billion boost to the local economy.
“The University of Bristol is investing £300 million into the site — this walkway is part of the infrastructure needed to facilitate this investment. We’re glad he acknowledges this project needs to go ahead, despite his bluster. The project will be part funded by a government grant which needs to be spent by 2027.
“Cllr Coombes has repeatedly tried to block the spending of this grant by trying to take all plans back to square one, meaning the council would have to hand back tens of millions of pounds by not meeting the deadline. The landslip from April 2024 makes up 50 per cent of the cost increase on this project.
“The Liberal Democrats have chaired the economy and skills Committee which oversees the Temple Quarter regeneration project — including the new harbour walkway — since May. It’s their responsibility to get a grip of overspends. It’s high time they and their Green Party coalition partners took some ownership and accountability for their role running the council. Their absence of leadership and ownership is failing our city.
“Only last week, following Labour’s campaign, they shelved their plans to close up to 19 of Bristol’s libraries. Despite the plans being drafted by Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Williams, he had the audacity to have a photoshoot outside his local library, claiming he didn’t support his own cuts. This is clearly a similar situation. They’re in charge now — they need to spend less time making excuses, be accountable, and get on with the job.”