Demolition begins Gloucester Docks regeneration project
An abandoned shopping centre at the heart of Gloucester Docks is being demolished.
Work has begun to tear down the Merchants Quay shopping centre, which has stood empty since 2007.
Building demolition contractors erected hoardings around the site a month ago, while they dealt with asbestos removal from the building, and this week started taking down the roof.
The site is being primed for a key regeneration project that will see the construction of a four-and-a-half storey warehouse-style building that will house 48 flats and 5,500 square feet of leisure and retail space.
The project is being hotly anticipated by local community and business leaders, who have said the project fits perfectly in the site.
Gloucester city council leader, Paul James, said, “Since the shopping centre closed there has been a big hole in the heart of the docks.”
“I am delighted to see this work begin to bring about its demolition, and to see work begin immediately afterwards on the high-quality replacement.”
The plans have been carefully devised in a joint effort between Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company, developers, Crest Nicholson, and architects, Stride Treglown, to create a development as sympathetic to the surroundings as possible.
The final design has been described as, “a contemporary building which sits comfortably within the unique setting of Gloucester Docks”.
