It’s been a few months since we were last in contact.  The good news is, things are happening!

Back in January the City Council advertised for development partners to take the Carriageworks scheme forwards.  A number of developers expressed interest (phew!) so we* were able to help the Council shortlist and invite outline proposals.

As of now, we are working with the Council to assess the proposals.  All being well, the Council will be able to ask for more detailed proposals to be worked up from early June.

So, it seems like a good time to get everyone together to let you know more about the proposals and how you can contribute to the emerging ideas.  The next meeting of the Carriageworks Action Group will therefore be on Monday 10^th June, at 6:30pm, at the Salvation Army, Ashley Road.

Don’t forget, there’s still a long way to go.  The aspiration is to have selected a preferred developer by the end of 2013.  They will then prepare a planning application and that in turn will enable the compulsory purchase process to begin.  In our dreams the builders could be on site by mid 2015, but there’s a million things that will likely get in the way of that happening!

Look forward to seeing you on the 10^th.

Lori Streich, Chair, CAG

*CAG has been represented at the City Council’s meetings with interested developers and in the assessment process by Lori Streich (CAG Chair) and Julian Mellor (CAG Facilitator).  The developers also met with the CAG Liaison Group: Jeff Butterfield, Prue Hardwick, Pete Bullard and Janine McCretton.

At the end of December the City Council reopened its search for a developer to help deliver the Community Vision for the Carriageworks and Westmoreland House.

Because rules is rules, it’s a long and drawn out process that will take most of 2013.  And then there’s the small matter of wrestling the site from the current owners so that something can actually happen.  But everything has to start somewhere so it’s good that we’re finally off the starting blocks.

If you want to see the documentation go to the Council’s Proactis website.  You’ll have to create a login for yourself – but its all free and without obligation.  If you just want to know what the summary says, here it is:

Bristol City Council seeks to select a development partner that is
prepared to enter into a joint development agreement to bring back
into beneficial use a long vacant and derelict site in the heart 
of Bristol. The site is known as Westmoreland House/Old Carriage 
Work,Stokes Croft, Bristol and contains a number of derelict buildings, 
including two, which are listed, together with an extensive area of
land. It is the intention of the Council to facilitate the delivery
of the Site to a selected development partner under a development 
agreement. The selected developer will be expected to undertake 
community engagement on proposals and apply for all necessary planning 
permissions and approvals on the agreed scheme(s), and upon obtaining 
planning permission to build out the development. The Council and 
the developer will seek to acquire the Site from the owner through
 private treaty. Should this route fail, the Council will apply for 
a Compulsory Purchase Order to secure the Site.

The closing date for developers to express an interest is 31 January 2013.

Dear Friends and Colleagues

The next Carriageworks Action Group meeting will be on Wednesday 19th September from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Hall, St Pauls Learning and Family Centre, 94 Grosvenor Rd, St Paul’s, BS2 8XJ

The purpose of the meeting is to let you know what’s been happening over the past few months, and what will be happening next.

ALL ARE WELCOME. No “conflict of interest” issues are on the agenda, and it would be great to see as many friends and supporters of the Carriageworks Vision as can make it.
So, what’s been going on?

Seeking a Development Partner: The Council has started the process of seeking a “Development Partner” for the site. As the name suggests, this is an organisation, or group or consortium of organisations, that will support the Council to buy the site, and then to develop it. We need a development partner because Bristol City Council alone does not have the money to do all this. The partner will be an organisation that can bring additional resources, money, time and experience that will make the Community Vision happen.

Members of the Liaison Group have been working closely with Jan and other Council officers, and Councillors, to ensure that
·    the Community Vision is at the heart of this procurement process
·    the development partner that is selected will work closely with us to deliver the Vision
·    there is as much community involvement as is legally possible in the procurement process.

The procurement process is long, complex and universally unpopular. We are only using it because it is required by law when a local authority “buys” any service costing more that £15,000. As the cost of buying and developing the Carriageworks and Westmoreland House site will clearly be an expensive business, and because it will need the active involvement of the Council, we have to use the procurement process.

We are ever mindful of the need to work with the Council because the site is privately owned. If attempts to buy the site by agreement fail it is likely that the Council will have to seek a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to enable its development in line with the Community Vision.  Most CPOs are made under powers given to local authorities, and the Council must be able to demonstrate that the CPO is necessary and that there is a ‘compelling case in the public interest’. It also must be able to demonstrate that everything done leading to the CPO has been done within the law. The consequence is that we need to procure a development partner, but CAG, through the Liaison Group, is working to make this as inclusive a process as is possible within the law.

If you want to know more about this procurement malarkey, how it works and how long it takes, see http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/tenders-and-contracts If you want a simpler more personal briefing then come along to the meeting on 19th September where a member of the council’s procurement team will make a short presentation.

The Prospectus for the development partner is available under the Docs tab. If you are interested in bidding or know an organisation that might want to bid then follow the instructions in the prospectus to register online.

Liaison Group and 2md: The Liaison Group represents the community interest within the procurement process – and all other stages working to the development of the site. Our main roles are to work with the Council to seek the development of the Carriageworks and Westmoreland House site, and to ensure that any actions to develop the site are in line with the Community Vision. We also aim to make the procurement process as open as it can legally be, and to stretch the level of community engagement as far as we can. See Who we are.

At our request, Bristol City Council, through Jan, has brought Julian Mellor and Hugh Nettelfield back to help us out. Some people will know Julian and Hugh as the facilitators and organisers of the consultation process that ran from September to December last year. Their role in this next period will be to represent the Liaison Group in the procurement process, and to ensure that the community vision is fully reflected in the developer selection.

I am aware that there is a high gobbledygook factor whenever anyone talks about procurement. If you want to know more, please do come to the CAG meeting on 19th September. We will try to explain it without jargon!

Finally, you may be aware that the planning application submitted by the current owner has been disposed of by Bristol City Council, so it is no longer being considered. This is because the Planning Department had not received any revisions to the scheme or additional information as requested in 2011. This issue is entirely separate to CAG’s role and any of our actions. I am just letting you know because of your interest in the Carriageworks / Westmoreland House site.

I hope to see you on the 19th September.

Best wishes,
Lori, Chair, CAG

On 31 May 2012, Bristol City Council’s Cabinet decided that it will enact its Compulsory Purchase Powers for the Carriageworks site within two years, but only if negotiations fail to secure the site by agreement.

The decision is subject to conditions, which include finding the right development partner to invest in Carriageworks and Westmoreland House.

The council will seek a development partner (through a formal process) who will put up the funding to buy the property, either through negotiation with the owner, or through CPO.  It is acknowledged by all that, beyond this, development of the site is still some years away.

Independent property adviser GVA has been appointed to assist with the process. A brief is currently being prepared to advise potential developers on the appropriate design and mix of commercial, residential and community uses. It will be based on work undertaken by the local community Carriageworks Action Group. Their published Carriageworks Community Vision is the result of keen dialogue involving Councillors, council advisers, local experts, creative thinkers, residents, businesses and even passers by.

Members of the Carriageworks Action Group will be included in the developer selection process alongside the council.  Funding from the Homes and Communities Agency will support the process.

You can watch the webcast of the cabinet meeting at www.bristol.gov.uk/webcast

You can read the cabinet report Carriageworks Westmoreland House Cabinet report 31 May 2012

The Carriageworks Action Group is holding its next meeting as follows
Date: Thursday 19 April 2012
Time: 5.30 – 7.30
Venue: Upper hall in the Salvation Army building at 6 Ashley Road

This will be an important meeting, to discuss what happens after the consultation, and how to promote the Community Vision in the future development of the site.

The agenda items are
1. Introduce advisors – GVA
2. General update
3. CAG remit
4. CAG involvement in process going forward
5. Developers Brief

Note: At item 5, to avoid a conflict of interest arising, all those people or groups that want to preserve a position where they could take part in a bid to become developer for the site will have to leave the meeting.

The Carriageworks Action Group is proud to launch the Community Vision (PDF 2.5Mb) for the future of the Carriageworks and Westmoreland House.

The Vision is the culmination of 6 months work by the local community to find out what people want to happen on the site, and how we make sure it does happen.

If you have any thoughts or comments please leave them below.

Keep an eye out for details on what happens next!

The Carriageworks Action Group is organising an exhibition to launch the Community Vision for the Carriageworks site.  The exhibition flyer can be seen below right or at Exhibition leaflet

The grand opening of the exhibition is between 6-9 pm on Thursday 8 March.  All are welcome.  It is being held at the New Gallery,35 Jamaica Street.

The exhibition will be a warm and eclectic celebration of the Carriageworks, its history and important role in Bristol’s future.  The exhibition will continue to showcase the Community Vision between 9-24 March.

For those of you interested in process you will also find under the ‘Docs’ tab the minutes of the stakeholder group that agreed the vision (15 December 2011); a paper entitled “Carriageworks Consultation 2011:  What worked”; and a paper on “Carriageworks Action Group:  What next?”  The latter sets out how the group see its role continuing in working towards the regeneration of the Carriageworks site.

We hope to see you at the exhibition.

2011 on Stokes Croft – the people’s supermarket, freeshop, community kitchen, the foodstore, the No Tesco campaign and more are profiled in this 30 minute documentary.

You can catch it on BBC iPlayer until 26 December. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b018jk2l/Inside_Out_West_19_12_2011/