approach the city centre from the south and the east. It’s a great start, but what comes next is even more important. With the train station refurbished and the underpass reimagined, the scene is set for King's Quarter. It becomes an incredibly well connected location. And that is partly, what got us thinking. You see, we think that the city needs ‘magnets’ at both ends - something that draws people to the city and starts to join up the dots in between. The south has the Docks and close by the Cathedral, both hugely successful ‘magnets’. But what of the north? So how should King's Quarter take shape? What will help regeneration at this end of the city, bringing the square to life and creating the same ‘buzz’ and activity? Well, we don’t believe it is residential and retail. Chasing a late 2000s regeneration scheme a la Bristol's Cabot Circus won’t work, the world has moved on and as we all know the high street is a very different place. We think Gloucester should look forward, innovate as it has done with the UKDRIC most recently and find its own solution and identity. King's Quarter should complement the Quays and the existing retail and residential offer and not compete with it. The high street has no demand for more retail space, there has to be another way. So, we started thinking about something the county has lacked for some time… a cultural/music/performance and conference centre. To be clear, it is not an entirely original idea. It has been put forward in a number of city council strategies, strongly supported in recent surveys and various locations have been suggested. But, imagine this located on the King's Quarter site and suddenly the opportunities become endless. Imagine going to see world class music events andWest End shows in the heart of Gloucester. More importantly, the setting offers so much opportunity for this to be a real success. You could arrive at the venue from Cheltenham/Cirencester/ Stroud/Forest of Dean and further afield on train and
bus, then access the venue on foot. If the Bruton Way car park is rebuilt, then there would also be ample parking for events and conferences. King's Quarter becomes our cultural quarter, linking via King's Square to the retail beyond and on to the leisure quarter at the Quays and the Cathedral. Activities would and could spill into King's Square, giving it the vibrancy and identity that it deserves. Imagine visiting the venue and having a pre-event drink in the ‘sky bar’ on the roof, looking across the Square and the city to the Cathedral spire beyond. Imagine driving into the city and seeing a fantastic iconic cultural building sat behind the Transport Hub, welcoming you to Gloucester and saying something about our fantastic city. We understand there is a golden area for capacity and facilities to deliver a building like this, to ensure it has longevity of use and can generate enough return to make it viable, but we believe it could be work within the current King's Quarter masterplan. Most importantly, however, surely it would be something to be proud of and give something to the people of Gloucester city and the county, a legacy and a future. Maybe it’s just us dreaming and we are way off the mark… either way we would love to hear your views l To find out more about Roberts Limbrick
visit www.robertslimbrick.com or telephone 03333 405 500. What do you think should happen to King’s Quarter? Let us know email news@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk
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