Bristol developed at the confluence of the rivers Avon and Frome, with its port going from strength to strength over the years. This history wasn’t always glorious — between 1700 and 1857 over 2,000 slave ships set sail from Bristol. The harbour area was created in 1809 when warehouses were built to store goods. However, as ships increased in size, the winding River Avon (shown in Figure 1, below) became a perilous route inland, with ships often getting stuck in the narrow channel. To avoid this issue, docks were built further downstream, where the river enters the Bristol Channel, in 1908 and 1972, accelerating the decline of the city centre harbour. By the 1980s, large areas of land around the harbour had suffered from deindustrialisation and dereliction, and were ripe for regeneration.
The Harbourside area of Bristol is located on the River Avon next to the city centre (see Figure 1) and was a bustling industrial area before its rapid decline in the 1970s. The transformation of this area into a mixed-use development of homes, offices and attractions began almost 50 years ago, with the opening of the industrial museum in 1978. The Harbourside now includes cultural venues such as the Watershed Media and Arts Centre, attractions including We The Curious science centre and M-Shed (which used to be the industrial museum), food venues and a large number of apartments.
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