Thousands of new homes and jobs are to be created through the regeneration of Bristol Temple Quarter, following a £95 million in government funding, Levelling Up Minister Neil O'Brien MP has announced.

Bristol's biggest ever regeneration project will deliver up to 10,000 homes and 22,000 jobs in a series of new sustainable and inclusive communities at the heart of one of the UK's most productive and fast-growing city regions. The funding will unlock the first phase of this scheme, with future plans to develop 57 hectares of land across St Philip’s Marsh in phase two.

The scheme will help to address regional inequalities by focusing on a highly deprived area of Bristol, delivering new affordable homes, generating skills, training, and employment opportunities while improving transport, boosting regional productivity and economic growth.

The partnership between the West of England Combined Authority, Bristol City Council, Network Rail and Homes England will bring forward the regeneration of approximately 130 hectares - equivalent to about 182 football pitches - of brownfield land.

The £95m funding will be focused on areas immediately around Bristol Temple Meads station, unlocking approximately 2,500 new homes by 2032 and supporting around 2,200 jobs.

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The funding will also support the creation of three new or significantly improved station entrances planned to the north, south and east of Bristol Temple Meads station. The new entrances will mean that the station no longer severs the connections between neighbouring areas but connects them instead. The new eastern entrance to Bristol Temple Meads will make it much easier to reach the station from surrounding neighbourhoods and creates a link to the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise campus.

There will also be a multi-storey car park and a new transport hub which will link up the railway with connections for pedestrians, cyclists and the local and citywide bus network, making it easier to travel around the city and to/from the region.

The latest funding announcement builds on the completion of last summer’s £132m track and signalling upgrade at Bristol East Junction and the ongoing renovation of the station's historic train shed roof.

Mike Gallop, Network Rail's Western route and strategic operations director, said: "We welcome this funding announcement and look forward to continuing working with our partners to revitalise Bristol Temple Quarter, including transforming Bristol Temple Meads station into a world class transport hub with three new entrances, a multi-storey car park and new commercial and retail for the benefit of our passengers, the city of Bristol and wider West of England region.

"Our work to modernise the railway near Bristol Temple Meads and the renovation of the station itself is continuing to progress really well. Last summer we completed a £132m major track upgrade at Bristol East Junction resulting in a clever new track layout and state of the art signalling equipment, providing passengers with more reliable and better journeys to and from Bristol Temple Meads, while the next phase of our work to refurbish the station's historic train shed roof is ongoing."

Minister O'Brien MP, said: "Building new homes in the places they are most needed and regenerating our towns and cities lies at the heart of the Government’s levelling up mission.

"It's fantastic to be in Bristol today to see this levelling up in action; central government working with local leaders and industry to grow the economy, delivering the high-quality new homes this country needs and breathing new life into neglected places."