Five months after his election as mayor, Marvin Rees revealed an ambition which had never been mentioned in his manifesto – to encourage tall buildings in Bristol.
Since then it has been a continuous story of building. Rees, who has little aesthetic sense, has decided that he knows the answers. The answer is to take a beautiful town, with a distinctively low-rise topography (like so many beautiful continental cities – Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich, Toulouse and many others) – and to transform it by filling it with skyscrapers, like hundreds of third world cities. Never mind that its present topography serves it perfectly well. It is rich, it attracts talent, and attra
Bristol is the second richest large town in England after London and the university cities. It is already a densely-inhabited town, and on an average weekend it is sparkling with life. It is recognised as an attractive city, and from its centre you can see the green hills and its many views. But no, insists the Mayor, we have to disconnect our citizens from the sky and overwhelm the traditional elements of the city which we value so much. After the Mayor is done with it – without consulting his citizens – C