Bristol Labour’s £9.7 million footpath
A single 400m stretch of path, originating under former Labour Mayor Marvin Rees, is years behind schedule and nearly three times over budget. Papers published this week reveal that the cost of the river path, referred to as the Harbour Walkway, has spiralled to an eye-watering £9.7 million.
The path, designed to float on the river behind Temple Meads Station, was a condition of a land sale to the University. It will reclaim land from the river beneath the railway bridge and connect the Totterdown Basin to the ferry stop by Valentine’s Bridge just north of the station. Owing to the wording of the contract, Bristol City Council is responsible for creating this path, irrespective of the cost to the taxpayer.
The Liberal Democrat’s representative on the Transport and Connectivity Committee, Cllr Nicholas Coombes (Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze) said “This outrageous report demonstrates the wastefulness Bristol saw under the former Labour Mayor.
“It is a scandal that a 400m path should have been allowed to cost the taxpayer close to £10 million, with no way out of the contract. Sadly, years of mismanagement under Bristol Labour means that this is just another failure inflicted upon the city by the unchecked and unaccountable former mayor. No wonder the Council is struggling to close a massive budget deficit with this kind of financial inheritance.”
This current example of Bristol Labour’s carelessness with public money comes shortly after the controversial Ebenhaezer barge was finally scrapped. The barge, which was bought for £1.4 million in 2019 for its mooring rights, was allowed to sit abandoned and rot for years after its purchase under the previous Labour administration.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The relevant committee item is Item 13 ‘Harbour Walkway budget amendment’ from the papers for the 6th February Transport and Connectivity Committee: ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk
- Cllr Nicholas Coombes Portrait: Cllr_Nicholas_Coombes.jpg
- Source of concept image of Harbour Walkway: Bristol Temple Quarter (Bristol Temple Quarter)
