Work has started on preparing the former sorting office next to Temple Meads railway station for demolition – paving the way for the University of Bristol’s planned £300m Enterprise Campus.
Contractor Kier Construction began work earlier this month on the 2.1-hectare gateway site, one of the landmark developments in the regeneration of the Temple Quarter district. 
Kier will spend the next three to four months on enabling tasks to get the eyesore building ready for demolition, including stripping it out and removing the road ramp on the eastern side of the site.
A staged demolition of the sorting office itself could start in early summer, depending on progress with the enabling works.
The crumbling building has blighted the area since it was last used by the Royal Mail more than 20 years ago.
Efforts more than 10 years ago by a previous owner – a London-based developer – to transform it into a media hub and then as a possible new home for the BBC’s Bristol operations came to nothing.
It was later sold to a Thai business but protracted efforts by Bristol City Council to buy it became deadlocked and it continued to be an unwelcoming sight for anyone arriving in the city by train.
On a visit, Prime Minister David Cameron famously described it as making the entrance to the city look like a war zone. The council eventually bought it with a grant of £5.4m from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) previously earmarked for land acquisition linked to the delayed Arena project.
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “I’m pleased that we are making progress towards demolition of this eyesore. The derelict sorting office has been a blight on the landscape for many years, creating a poor impression of the city for people arriving by train.
“The start of enabling works is an important milestone towards the creation of a new enterprise campus – a new home of digital innovation and research for the University of Bristol.
“The whole city will benefit from this development. It will transform the appearance of the area and serve as a catalyst for the ongoing regeneration of the Temple Quarter.”
University of Bristol deputy vice-chancellor Prof Guy Orpen added: “I welcome the start of work to clear the derelict former sorting office site to make way for our exciting new Enterprise Campus.
“Over the next few years we will be working with our partners and neighbours to turn this inaccessible derelict site into a welcoming new campus that will benefit the whole city. It will offer spaces for learning, research, collaboration, leisure and living, bringing life to a neglected part of the city centre and driving the further development of digital innovation in the city region.”
This initial phase of work may also include removal of the derelict Cattle Market Tavern, which has been out of use for more than 17 years and is no longer structurally sound.
The Bristol Wood Recycling Project – which was originally set up on Cattle Market Road on temporary basis more than 10 years ago – has now moved to a new site nearby in St Philips, as reported by Bristol Business News last week.
Ahead of the sorting office demolition and site clearance, Bristol City Council, the university and the Wood Recycling Project have released a series of striking photographs of the building.
Click here to view the images.
