L2 The Grove

A welcoming waterfront square in the heart of the harbour.
The opportunity
The site is in the heart of the harbour, right off the Prince Street Bridge and adjacent to the Arnolfini arts centre. It holds a fantastic opportunity for a leisure, food and beverage, cultural business or market.

Technical information
- Size: Approx. 442sqm
- Lease Length: A meanwhile use of up to September 2028 will be considered. There may be potential to extend annually thereafter depending on the development timetable for The Grove.
- Access: Closest public parking is The Grove car park and nearest vehicle access point for loading is The Grove/ Prince Street.
- Permissions: Planning permission would be required for any use longer than 28 days and will be liable to business rates. Proposals for markets will require a markets license, see Resources section for more details.
- Power & Utilities: See Resources section.
- Notes: The space adjacent needs retaining to provide some operational parking and space for periodically accessing the sewer.
- This site is allocated in the Local Plan for development.
Current and past uses
- The West end of the site is currently being used as Dock’s operational land, providing 11 permit-holder car parking spaces.
- The site is also used to lift boats out on the harbour in emergencies, but this operation could be relocated.
- The site is used as a fair ground during the Bristol Harbour Festival.
- Previous meanwhile uses have included a bungee jump which was hugely popular and supported the surrounding local businesses.
The wider area
- Within the Local Plan, the site has been allocated for a mixed-use development and forms part of the Goram Homes delivery pipeline.
- As outlined in the Harbour Place Shaping Strategy the site is on a key pedestrian desire line, with the potential closure of Prince Street Bridge to all motor traffic. This will allow more space for pedestrians and micro mobility users on the bridge and fewer cars around the site.


Video footage of The Grove site
Video footage showing an aerial view of The Grove and Mud Dock sites.
Interested in this site?
The deadline for applications for The Grove is: 17 November 2025.
