'Final push' Work set to start on rebuilding shed at historic boatyard

WORK to rebuild a historic boatyard site in Bristol that was hit by a devastating fire is to start in December.

- Hannah BAKER Business editor

The reconstruction of The Big Shed and adjoining workshops on the dockside comes two years after the buildings were destroyed in an arson attack.

The Underfall Yard Trust says it will use one of the reinstated workshops to deliver new public engagement and education programmes centred on boatbuilding.

However, it still needs to raise £100,000 to modernise the 19th-century site.

The building contract was awarded to Stone BCI, which repaired the Shipwright’s building earlier this year, last year. Meanwhile, the rebuild design team includes Alec French Architects, MDA Consulting, Max Fordham and Stantec.

The completed work will maintain the original look and scale of the workshops, while bringing them to modern standards required for a working boatyard, the Underfall Yard Trust said.