Bristol Development Corporation

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Bristol Development Corporation
Formation1989
Dissolved1995
HeadquartersBristol
Location
  • England
Official language
English
Chairman
Christopher Thomas
Key people
Miles Collinge

The Bristol Development Corporation was established in 1988 to develop parts of eastern Bristol, England.

History

The corporation was established as part of an initiative by the future Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, in 1988 during the Third Thatcher ministry. [1] Board members were directly appointed by the minister and overrode local authority planning controls to spend government money on infrastructure. This was a controversial measure in Labour strongholds such as East London, Merseyside and North East England. [2] [3]

The formation of the corporation was delayed for 18 months as a result of a petition from Bristol City Council to the House of Lords. [4] Its flagship developments included the Bristol Spine Road linking the M32 and the A4, [5] [6] which allowed developments such as the Avonmeads Retail Park and the Castle Court Retail Park to proceed. [7] [8] During its lifetime 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of non-housing development and 676 housing units were built. Around 4,825 jobs were created and some £235m of private finance was leveraged in. Circa 180 acres (0.73 km2) of derelict land was reclaimed and 4.1 miles (6.6 km) of new road and footpaths put in place. [9]

The Chairman was Christopher Thomas and the Chief Executive was Miles Collinge. [10] It was dissolved in 1995. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "The Bristol Development Corporation (Area and Constitution) Order 1988". Legislation.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. ↑ Parkinson, Michael; Duffy, James (1984). Government's Response to Inner-City Riots: The Minister for Merseyside and the Task Force. Vol. 37. Parliamentary Affairs. pp. 76–96.
  3. ↑ Crick, Michael (1997). Michael Heseltine: A Biography. Hamish Hamilton. p. 238. ISBN   978-0241136911.
  4. ↑ "The Bristol Development Corporation is now in business". Evening Post. 2 March 1990.
  5. ↑ "Bristol Development Corporation unveils £500 million regeneration scheme". Construction News. 12 July 1990. Retrieved 16 February 2025. The key element to the success of Bristol Development Corporation's plans is the £55 million spine road
  6. ↑ "Spine Road vital to success of Bristol's regeneration". 31 May 1991. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  7. ↑ Imrie, Rob; Thomas, Huw; Oatley, Nick; May, Andrew. "'Out of Touch, out of Place, out of Time': A Valediction for Bristol Development Corporation". British Urban Policy: An Evaluation of the Urban Development Corporations. doi:10.4135/9781446218907.n8.
  8. ↑ "Wilson Connolly gets nod in Bristol – leisure development approved. The Bristol Development Corporation has approved a £15 million leisure development on Avon Meads and Castle Court". Construction News. 19 August 1993. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "Impact of Urban Development Corporations in Leeds, Bristol & Central Manchester". Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. 18 November 1998. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  10. ↑ "Hard sell to lure £1 billion; Bristol". The Times. 29 May 1991. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "The Bristol Development Corporation (Dissolution) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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