The forgotten plans for a metro line through Wapping Wharf

You can still see where the line would have run along today

Delving through hundreds of pages of documents about the new development at Wapping Wharf, one detail jumps out. When developers were first planning to build the restaurants, shops and flats at the Harbourside, they had to keep space free for a potential metro line.

Ambitious transport planners decades ago hoped the metro would ferry passengers from Temple Meads, Bristol’s main railway station, along the southern side of the harbour, stopping at the M Shed and the then unbuilt new development at Wapping Wharf along the way.

Instead, Bristol got the Metrobus M2 service. This express bus service runs along a similar route, from Long Ashton to Temple Meads and Cabot Circus, and recently started running on Sundays. But you can still see tracks running past the Cargo 2 development behind the M Shed.

And an old steam railway line runs from the M Shed, along the Chocolate Path, to the old bonded warehouses at the western end of Spike Island. Next to the Ostrich pub’s beer garden, you can see the entrance to a tunnel under Redcliffe too. This would have been the route for the metro line, if the plans had not been scrapped in favour of launching the four Metrobus routes.

In February councillors on Bristol City Council ’s planning committee B voted to grant permission for Umberslade Securities Ltd to build a 10-storey block of flats at Wapping Wharf behind the M Shed. Space will also be kept in the new development for the popular bougie shops and restaurants that are currently located in blue shipping containers. 245 flats will be built in total.

One of the many documents published as part of the plans detailed the site’s history, and specifically an old rule along Museum Street, which runs between the back of the M Shed museum and the Cargo 2 development. This shows how the council’s regeneration plans for the Harbourside initially wanted to make space for a light rail network, which was never built.

The document said: “In respect of Museum Street this guidance specified an 18-metre wall-to-wall corridor so as to accommodate a Light Rapid Transit link, part of the then proposed City Region Light Rail Network. The 18-metre dimension was intended to allow enough width for a tram station and platforms, alongside retained provision for local access needs.”

Back then the area was known by the catchy name of “Major Development Site A3”, and was mostly owned by the British Rail Property Board. This covered the land between Cumberland Road and the harbour, which had been used as a railway yard and car park after the decline of the industrial docks. Bristol’s Local Plan in 1997 safeguarded the route behind the museum.

Because the plans have now been scrapped, Umberslade is planning to use the space along Museum Street for “more frontage vitality”, essentially bringing a bit more life, hustle and bustle to the wide open and sparse road. The council’s latest Local Plan no longer proposes a route along Museum Street for light rapid transit.

But when the redevelopment of Wapping Wharf was first planned two decades ago, Umberslade and council planners thrashed out their vision for the area. A masterplan document from back then stated: “Proposals for Museum Street within the development and for Wapping Road will take into account the possibility of future light rail stations in both these locations.”

The M2 Metrobus service runs from the Long Ashton Park and Ride, stopping at Cumberland Basin, Temple Meads, Cabot Circus and Broadmead. This runs up to every 15 minutes at peak times, but less often in the evenings and on Sundays. Along Spike Island, buses have been delayed by various construction works blocking Cumberland Road.

The council installed a controversial bus gate on Cumberland Road, which prevents normal traffic from delaying the bus with cameras and the threat of fines. Yet at the moment there are two sets of temporary traffic lights which also delay the buses. One is for years-long repairs to the bridge by the Louisiana pub, and the other is for repairs to the adjacent river walls.

Temporary lights are needed for the river walls repairs, as contractors are using part of the road to park vehicles and equipment. If a metro line had been built along Spike Island, this would not be a problem. Nor would slow-moving cyclists sharing the road with buses, and there wouldn’t be a need for the bus gate hitting unsuspecting drivers with frequent fines for passing through.

Initially the M2 was planned to run along Museum Street and over a rebuilt Prince Street Bridge. But Umberslade objected to this, as a large area of Wapping Wharf would be used for years to build out the new bus route. This could have also adversely affected pedestrians walking around the area. However the route was changed, using Cumberland Road and Redcliff Hill instead.

Looking ahead, the West of England Combined Authority recently revealed its transport vision, with mock-ups of a tram outside Bristol Airport. But these plans are still at an early stage, and it’s unclear what exactly will get built where.

However any construction work won’t begin until the next decade — or at least if plans don’t get scrapped again, like the Wapping Wharf metro line.