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- Bristol Future Parks
Information about Bristol Future Parks community opportunities.
We're inviting residents to explore opportunities that build on the hard work and dedication citizens have already made to our parks and green spaces.
This is an opportunity to start and lead a project. You could:
- plant and maintain new and existing vegetation
- restore green spaces
- volunteer with Friends of the Parks groups
- start new community groups, doing activities that benefit visitors' and residents' physical and mental health
- run park facilities, such as food shops
Bristol Future Parks with commercial potential and opportunities we're keen to explore.
Sites in scope for commercial opportunities
There are five sites in scope for the pilot phase of the Future Parks project. Three of those have specific commercial potential.
They are:
- Blaise Castle Estate, a large scale destination site
- Dame Emily Park, a local community park
- Eastville Park, a large city park
Commercial opportunities we're keen to explore
Working in partnership with businesses and investors we're keen to explore a variety of opportunities that can generate revenue and enhance our park spaces. You can visit our parks pages to explore specific opportunities at each site, but ideas could include:
- splash parks
- balance bike zones for young children
- tree top adrenaline adventures
- woodland tobogganing
- bike hubs
- cafes
- lakeside activities
By working with us, you can:
- be among the first to run your business from one of our pilot phase parks
- diversify your current portfolio and future proof your business with an outdoor presence
- increase your market share by securing the perfect location for your business needs whilst demand for outdoor activities is increasing
- scale up after the pilot phase when we add more parks and green spaces to the project
Bristol Future Parks is providing opportunities for community groups, businesses, individuals, enterprises and investors to make suggestions on how they can enhance and contribute to the development of our open spaces.
What the Bristol Future Parks approach is, how it works, how to find out more.
What is the Bristol Future Parks approach
We're exploring new ways to:
- raise revenue from our parks and build a more sustainable operating budget
- invest in and provide vital mental and physical health benefits from our parks
- support community projects to make our parks better
How the approach works
The first phase of Bristol Future Parks will pilot a new process of engaging communities and enterprises in Bristol's green spaces.
The pilot is being trialled in:
- Blaise Castle Estate
- Chaplin Community Garden
- Dame Emily Park
- Eastville Park
- Sea Mills Recreation Ground
See the Our Spirit of Place statements that set out what is special and unique about each park and provide great insights for taking projects forward.
We invited communities and enterprises to submit a proposal of what they want to achieve in our parks. This is called an Expression of Interest (EOI). We have received a large number of EOIs and are assessing them to determine their suitability.
We're piloting this approach and will build learning into future phases.
The future
Our developing parks and green spaces strategy will define our direction of travel for the next 20 years. Bristol Future Parks complements work we've already started in:
- health
- heritage (natural and built)
- children and young people
- green infrastructure
- volunteering
- income generation
We're also inviting commercial partners to operate from some of our parks and introduce leisure activities that both enliven our open spaces and raise revenue for the parks. We want to foster an environment where communities and businesses can work alongside each other in a mutually beneficial way.
We have a challenge ahead of us, but great things can be achieved when we harness the power of our communities and partners.
As the largest city in the south west, Bristol is multicultural and diverse, with a rich and eventful history. It's one of the UK's 11 core cities Go to https://www.corecities.com/ (opens new window).
Bristol won the 2015 European Green Capital Award Go to https://bristolgreencapital.org/who-we-are/european-green-capital-award/ (opens new window), and The Sunday Times named it Britain's best place to live in 2017 Go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39320118 (opens new window). The city is renowned for its environmentally friendly, inclusive and innovative personality.
Bristol has a thriving economy
Bristol contributed £14.7 billion to the UK economy in 2019. We're the only city outside of London to make a positive net contribution to the Exchequer. Find out more in A One City economic renewal Go to https://www.bristolonecity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/One-City-Economic-Recovery-Statement-of-Intent.pdf (opens new window).
Bristol has a diverse population
Our 2020 population was 463,400. Our projected population by 2039 is 545,600, making Bristol a growing market for investment.
Bristol attracts millions of visitors
Bristol's parks attract around 30 million visitors each year, so there are lots of trading opportunities.
The value of the visitor economy to Bristol is significant, generating 9% of all employment. If we increase business activities in our parks we'll create more jobs and support the city's economy.
The most visits and highest proportion of money spent in our hotels, restaurants, museums and other attractions are by UK-based visitors. International visitors tend to spend more per person.
In 2018, Bristol had 13.5 million day visits, which generated £526 million. Combined with the 2.4 million overnight stays, the total visitor related spend in 2018 was £1,077 million. We hope to see these figures grow as a result of Bristol Future Parks, with our partners earning a quality return on their investment, and any funds generated for parks redistributed across the whole parks estate.
Bristol's parks and green spaces
We want to make sure that everyone in Bristol has access to a great park. 95% of people have visited parks in Bristol and Bath in the past year, with 49% willing to travel for 3 miles or more to visit one.
Bristol was the first major city to declare a climate emergency. We recognise that we must:
- proactively manage our impact
- reverse the environmental damage we've already done
86% of residents are concerned about the impact of climate change.
Between the months of April and October, 72.3% visit their park at least once a week.
Let's invest in parks and build new leisure facilities that entertain and generate revenue for a sustainable future.
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