Bristol Wood Recycling Project has relocated to an industrial unit in the St Philips area of the city – ending the social enterprise’s anxious search for a new home.
The Bristol office of property agents JLL acquired the William Street premises on behalf of the project, which has been based at its high-profile yard on Cattle Market Road for the past 14 years. 
As its lease ended, and with redevelopment planned for the new University of Bristol campus on the site, the project was faced with a search for a new base.
It was offered a site by Bristol City Council in the suburbs at Blaise. However the infrastructure was not sufficient to support the business.
JLL surveyor Deborah Bryant-Pearson said: “We were faced with a complex situation in helping to rehome the Bristol Wood Recycling Project. Transport links were of paramount importance, so their volunteers and customers could easily get to them.
“We had to find a property which was both central but also big enough to allow the business to continue and grow.
“We explored several options, but with a date to vacate their existing site looming, we knew we had to progress things quickly. Luckily, William Street fitted their requirement well in being close to the city centre for much-needed accessibility, as well as providing a sizeable yard for the storage of the wood.”
Bristol Wood Recycling Project director Ben Moss added: “It has been a stressful few months getting to this point. We are very excited to have moved to our new premises at William Street.
“We’re hugely fortunate to have been able to continue our collections service uninterrupted as well as receiving the keys for the new property before our existing tenancy terminated. We were able to move things across over the space of a week or so, with the help of our fantastic volunteers.”
Having been involved in the creation of the cooperative from the start, the move has come as a huge relief to Ben.
He continued: “We were fearful that if we didn’t find a property at all, or one so far out that people couldn’t easily get to us, we would have to cease trading. We were determined to do all we could to keep the company going, and the help and guidance we received from JLL made this possible. We now sit happily in our excellent new home, confident about the future- which is a far cry from where we were three months ago.”
The supply of industrial warehouse space in central Bristol is at its lowest level for more than 13 years. As a result, the market has become much more competitive, with rising rents and asking prices.
Deborah added: “It was a struggle to find a long-term option in Bristol which wouldn’t result in a potential need for the Bristol Wood Recycling Project to move again in the not too distant future. With so much change in the central Bristol area due to redevelopment for homes or student housing, there is a concern about what will happen to industrial occupiers looking for space.
“Increasingly, industrial occupiers are being pushed away from the centre when they’re looking to move to the area or need expansion space. Fortunately, in the case of Bristol Wood Recycling Project, the property we identified meets their needs and the future for the cooperative looks promising.”
Bristol Wood Recycling Project opened its new doors to customers at Unit 4 William Street this Monday.
More information can be found on its website, www.bwrp.org.uk
