It has been a busy week here in the Enterprise Zone, with some of the 350+ companies located here showing exactly why tech industries are thriving in the south-west of England (The Guardian) and why the Bristol city region’s economy is one of the strongest performing outside of London (2014 Centre for Cities report).
Following hot on the heels of the news that the funding package for the Bristol Arena has been agreed upon by Full Council, groundwork to clear the site ready for construction of the new bridge connecting Arena Island with Cattlemarket Road has begun. The HCA is set to invest £11m in constructing the three-lane bridge which will dramatically improve access to the site. CGI images of the bridge are due to be released in March.
To complement the new bridge, £20.85m plans to transform transport links in and around the Enterprise Zone are set to go under a Cabinet review on Thursday 4th March. The projects within this plan include a complete design of the area around Temple Circus roundabout to help pedestrians and cyclists access Temple Meads station to and from the ‘Brunel Mile’ (£11m); new vehicle, pedestrian and cycle links to ‘Arena Park’ (£6m) and better links for walking and cycling in all routes in and out of the Enterprise Zone (£3.85m).
The Zone is buzzing with activity at the moment – and production company Mendip Media have been trying to capture the atmosphere this week as they put together a promotional film about the Temple Quarter for next month’s MIPIM property fair. We’ve also had reporters from Swiss TV channel RTS here, interviewing Mayor George Ferguson and Red 7 Mobile for a piece about Bristol’s role in the current economic growth of the UK.
Inside the Enterprise Zone, Paintworks-based company Rockpool Digital have been celebrating after being named in the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 Small Companies, placing 67th. Meanwhile, Engine Shed was the host for SETsquared’s Marblar event, where budding entrepreneurs from five universities were invited to take part in brainstorming activites to think of new business ideas. A £200 prize went to the best idea, which was Zap-App: a handshaking transfer smart watch.
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