FAQs

The Harbour Place Shaping Strategy describes the sort of place we’d like the harbour to become over the next 20 years. It comprises of: 

• A Harbour Atlas – this describes the harbour as it is today 
• A Vision – this describes a collective vision for the future of the harbour 
• A series of Place Plans for different parts of the harbour (Baltic Wharf, Spike Island, Wapping Wharf, City & Backs, Canon’s Marsh, Hotwells Road), as well as a Place Plan for the waterspace itself – Place Plans describes the challenges and opportunities in different parts of the harbour, proposing interventions for each area that contribute to the vision 

We are consulting on the draft Harbour Place Shaping Strategy (Vision and Place Plans) from 23^rd September – 4 November 2024.  

We would like to encourage you to read the full Vision and Place Plan documents and then provide feedback through an online survey. For those who would prefer to read a summary of the HPSS rather than the full document, we advise proceeding straight to the survey as this provides a handy summary of all proposals. 

Printed reference copies of all reports will be available to review at the following locations between 23 September and 4 November during the following opening hours: 

• M-Shed (10-5pm Tuesday-Sunday) 
• Harbour Office (10am-3pm Monday-Friday) 
• Central Library (Varies daily-see website for details) 

For anyone without internet access, paper copies of the survey can either be picked up at the locations above or can be mailed out -you can request this by emailing harbourplaceshaping@bristol.gov.uk(External link) or calling 0117 922 2848. 

If you need the survey as Easy Read, Braille, large print, British Sign Language, or in another language, or other alternative format, you can request this by emailing harbourplaceshaping@bristol.gov.uk(External link) or calling 0117 922 2848. 

Drop-in sessions have been arranged at the M-Shed on the following dates to meet with members of the BCC team:  

• Tuesday 1^st October (2-5pm) 

• Wednesday 9^th October (10-1pm) 

• Saturday 19^th October (2-5pm) 

• Thursday 24^th October (10-1pm) 

The Western Harbour project is also being led by Bristol City Council. Both projects have a different geographic scope however. The HPSS focusses on the Floating Harbour to the east of Junction Lock Bridge (near the Nova Scotia Pub/Underfall Yard), whilst the Western Harbour project focuses on an area to the west of Junction Lock Bridge (which includes Cumberland Basin). The Western Harbour vision was approved by Bristol City Council’s Cabinet on 12 July 2022. This vision for Western Harbour is a thread that will inspire and guide changes to the area in the future, including being a key influence on the masterplanning process in which more detailed aspects will be considered.

The setting of fees and charges is regulated by legislation and is not part of the HPSS. In January 2023 Cabinet agreed the Docks and Fees paper which brought charges into line with other harbours and introduced new liveaboard licences.  

A Harbour Operational Review undertaken in 2022 highlighted that the existing harbour legislation, last updated 25 years ago in 1998, is no longer fit for purpose and a new Harbour Revision Order (HRO) needs to be adopted. In July 2023 Cabinet gave its approval to apply to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for a new Harbour Revision Order (HRO) and to create assured ring-fenced financial accounts for the harbour. The application for an HRO was submitted to the MMO in January 2024. It has since been validated and is now going through the standard MMO process,  anticipated to take 18 months to be approved. It  will therefore run alongside, but independently from the preparation of the HPSS.

The HPSS is consistent with the policies of the emerging Bristol Local Plan (November 2023) and has a hook to Policy DS1: Bristol City Centre which states:  

'The Floating Harbour will be maintained as a location for maritime industries and water related recreation activities alongside its role as a visitor destination and heritage asset (consistent with the vision set out in the Harbour Place Shaping Strategy). Waterfront areas adjacent to the Floating Harbour, Feeder Canal and River Avon will continue to be revitalised, delivering a high quality, publicly accessible quayside and water space that can support Bristol's growing population, comfortably accommodate an increasing number of visitors and better support nature recovery.' 

The Local Plan identifies a number of sites in the harbour for development including a number of sites that fall within the Harbour Estate: the Maritime Car Park, western end of The Grove, Waterfront Place, and Redcliffe Wharf. 

The HPSS has been commissioned by Bristol City Council and is being funded through the West of England Combined Authority (Investment Fund) with match funding from Bristol City Council.

In August 2023 DK-CM were appointed as the lead consultant to prepare this strategy, supported by Fourth Street, Savills and Rising Arts.

Autumn and Winter 2023: Community engagement to inform the preparation of the Harbour Atlas and Vision.

Spring and Summer 2024: Place Plan preparation.

Autumn 2024: Consultation on the draft Harbour Place Shaping Strategy (Vision and Place Plans).

Winter 2024: The final report will be taken to the Economy and Skills Committee for their endorsement.

There is a lot going on in and around the harbour. We’ve listed some of the main projects below:

Growth and Regeneration Areas

The harbour connects the central area's three main regeneration areas:

Western Harbour, City Centre and Temple Quarter.

Significant investment is expected in each of these areas, bringing long-term, transformational change. Significant investment is also expected within the harbour project area, with key harbourside sides coming forward in the next couple of years.

Bristol's Heat Network

The City Leap Partnership has started installing Bristol's Heat Network, a new network of underground pipes that will provide affordable, low-carbon heat and energy across the city. The harbour has been identified as a source of sustainable energy, with England's largest water source heat pump installed at Castle Park. The Partnership is looking for more locations to install heat pumps, to serve Spike Island and the city centre.

Bristol Avon Flood Strategy

The harbour fulfils a vital practical and defensive function, managing water during extreme tidal and river flooding events. We worked with the Environment Agency to develop the Bristol Avon Flood Strategy to improve the existing flood defence function of the harbour and the tidal regime in the River Avon New Cut.

Whilst the focus of these flood defence measures will be the River Avon (rather than the Floating Harbour), the HPSS will still need to understand the implications of flood risk to the harbour, outlining appropriate responses.

Swimming in Bristol Harbour

Following a successful pilot of safely managed swim sessions during 2023, All Aboard Water Sports now run regular professionally supervised weekend swim sessions within a segregated swimming zone in Baltic Wharf. Their website has information on when the swim sessions take place and how to book.

The swim sessions are dependant on water quality meeting bathing water standards.

Outside of these arrangements it is still illegal to jump into, swim, or dive in any part of Bristol Harbour without getting consent from the Harbour Master.

Floating habitat

Funding has been secured from WECA's Green Recovery Fund for a major new floating habitat opposite the SS Great Britain. Work began on installing this in June 2024.

The HPSS will explore further opportunities to make sure wildlife can thrive.

Project priorities will evolve to reflect emerging funding opportunities, partner organisation priorities, political priorities, etc. In terms of BCC led projects, decisions on individual projects will be taken by the relevant Committee  

Projects that are most likely to be prioritised for delivery in the short term will be those that can  demonstrate that: 

• They contribute  positively towards  the Vision (‘industrious & creative’; ‘resilience & sustainability’; open & accessible’) 
• There is a high probability of funding  
• They do not impact negatively on the Harbour Authority’s financial business model  
• They have stakeholder support 

Harbour Committee – The purpose of this newly formed Committee (summer 2024) is to determine all matters relating to the strategic management and safety of the Council’s function as a Statutory Harbour Authority. The Harbour Committee sits under the Economy and Skills Committee which is ultimately responsible for making major decisions about the harbour. 

Harbour Stakeholder Group - this newly formed group (Summer 2024) comprises individuals nominated to represent water users, water transport companies, residents, commercial companies operating in and around the harbour and not-for-profit organisations with a responsibility for harbour safety etc. The core objective of the Stakeholder Group is to represent a wide range of stakeholder opinion and viewpoint and to provide feedback and advice to the Harbour Committee  to assist in managing Bristol Floating Harbour in the best interests of stakeholders including the local community. 

 Western Harbour Advisory Group: A refreshed group was established in March 2024 following an open recruitment process. The WHAG works with Bristol City Council and the masterplanning team for the Western Harbour area. The group is a key connection between the project and wider communities and plays a role in ensuring that the community is kept informed about the project, sharing wider community voices with the council and project team