Former_Courage_Brewery,_Bristol_-_geograph

Finzels Reach is a mixed use development site located in central

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, on a former industrial site, which occupies most of the south bank of

Bristol Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

between

Bristol Bridge Bristol Bridge is a bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England. The floating harbour was constructed on the original course of the River Avon, and there has been a bridge on the site since long before the harbour was created by impou ...

and St Philip's Bridge, across the river from Castle Park. A

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the white ...

occupied part of the site from 1681, rebuilt by Conrad Finzel I in 1846 to become one of the largest sugar refineries in England. Known as Finzel's Sugar Refinery, it operated until 1881. Georges Bristol Brewery, founded in 1788, grew to occupy most of the site by the mid 20th century, when it was the largest

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in southwest England. Known after 1961 as the Courage Brewery, it operated until 1999. The site also includes the former Tramway Generating Station, a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

built in 1899 which operated as the

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

for

Bristol Tramways Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables. History The first trams in Brist ...

until 1941. Development plans were approved in 2006, but work was halted in 2011 due to financial issues with the developer, HDG Mansur, following the

2008 recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...

and the site was subsequently put on the market in 2013, after the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

. The development was revived when the developer, Cubex, bought the site in 2014. In 2020 Gavin Bridge the Director who had led the development left Cubex to launch Spatia, https://spatiauk.com/about/, a regeneration and sustainable development business. https://www.businessleader.co.uk/property-developer-gavin-bridge-launches-new-venture-spatia/ https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-west/bridge-launches-new-property-development-firm https://www.built-environment-networking.com/news/gavin-bridge-spatia/

History

Sugar refinery

The original Counterslip Sugar House was founded in 1681, in the northeast part of the site. German-born Conrad Finzel I (1793–1859) acquired the refinery in 1839. After it burnt down in 1846 he rebuilt it, at a cost of £250,000. Finzel's Sugar Refinery, one of the largest in England, employed over 700 workers. After Finzel's death in 1859, his family including Conrad Finzel II (1818–1903) kept Finzel & Sons going until 1877. A group of local businessmen briefly took over the refinery, but finally closed ‌it in 1881.

Brewery

Brewing originated at the western end of the site, where in 1788 the Porter Brewery on Bath Street was acquired by a consortium which became the Philip George Bristol Porter and Beer Company. In 1796 the company built a

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

brewery next to the

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

one. In 1861 the company became Georges and Company, and became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

in 1888. By the early 20th century the Georges Bristol Brewery employed around 170 workers. In 1919 and 1924 more land along Bath Street and Counterslip Street was acquired and by 1933 the brewery developed into a complex, the largest brewery in south west England. After absorbing its local rivals, the company became the dominant brewer in Bristol, but in 1961 it was taken over by Courage, Barclay & Simonds and was renamed Courage (Western). After Courage itself subsequently passed through various owners, the brewery was closed in October 1991 by

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

Generating station

The generating station is at the eastern end of the site, next to St Philip's Bridge. It was built in 1899 for the

Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company The Bristol Omnibus Company was a dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. History ...

by the architect

William Curtis Green William Curtis Green (16 July 1875 – 26 March 1960) was an English architect, designer and barrister"Quite ceremony in Archbishop's Palace", ''The Nottingham Evening Post'', 3 August 1935, p. 8. who was based in London for much of his career. ...

. The eventual demise of Bristol's tramways came on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

1941 during the

Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was easi ...

, when bombs falling on St Philip's Bridge cut the power to the whole tramway system. The generating station was subsequently converted into offices. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Development

The £250 million development includes a new footbridge over the

Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

, 168 bed hotel, 420 apartments, offices, shops, restaurants and bars. The previous design for a footbridge had a different alignment and had planning permission given as part of the original Finzels Reach development. A new design by Bristol-based Architect
The Bush Consultancy
was submitted by Finzels Reach Property LLP for a 4.5m wide curved pedestrian and cycle bridge
The proposals
were approved in March 2015 despite many objections due to the obstruction of the waterway from people using the harbour, and links Castle Park to Finzels Reach. The bridge has a height difference of between the Castle Park end and the Finzels Reach site and is long. In November 2014, a deal was signed betwee
Cubex
and Palmer Capital with Premier Inn for a 168 bedroom hotel located in the southern part of the site. In May 2016, planning consent was granted by

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 wards ...

for an 11-storey apartment block located in Hawkins Lane and another apartment building located on the north east corner of the site along the Floating Harbour. The two buildings will contain 194 one and two bedroom apartments and will be the final phase of residential development on the site. Willmott Dixon was appointed in late 2016 by Cubex to build the final residential development for the Finzels Reach site with construction starting in February 2017.

Bridgewater House

Completed in 2013, Bridgewater House is a Grade A

BREEAM BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of ...

excellent-rated office building located in the southern part of the Finzels Reach site. As of Spring 2016, the office building is let to Barclays Wealth and BDO.

Aurora

In September 2015, planning permission was given by

to build a seven-storey Grade A office building designed by Bristol-based Architect
The Bush Consultancy
In late 2015,

Willmott Dixon Willmott Dixon is a privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business. History The company was founded in 1852, by John Willmott. In March 2016, Bristol City Council approved plans for an S-shaped footbridge over the Floating Harbour, linking the development to Castle Park, despite its design obstructing navigation in the harbour and concerns that it would be visually intrusive. The bridge cost £2.7 million and was opened on 6 April 2017. Castle Bridge is one of the primary pedestrian routes set out by the City Council as part of their wider assessment of access to the city centre. It is said to complete an attractive 'walkway from Temple Mead to Castle Park and the retail areas of Cabot Circus'; however, it does not run in that direction and would require a 400-metre diversion from that route. It has marginally improved access to the popular ferry services on the north of the Floating Harbour for pedestrians coming from the south-west. Its unusually sinuous shape was designed to allow the minimum gradient on the bridge between either side of the Floating Harbour. Made from a series of unique curved steel sections, it is topped with timber decking, sculptured cladding and feature lighting. The 91-metre Castle Bridge adds an entirely new dimension to the Finzels Reach project, providing easy access to the north of the Floating Harbour. It twists its way gracefully across the historic waterway, landing in Castle Park from where Cabot Circus and the MetroBus route are a short walk away.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 51.454, -2.589, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bristol Harbourside Mixed-use developments in the United Kingdom