Bristol can compete with Europe's best by 2050 - Durie
Bristol could reach the heights of European cities such as Frankfurt in terms of GDP per capita if ambitious plans for the next 40 years come to fruition.
James Durie, director of the initiative and chamber at Business West, told Insider he hopes the Bristol 2050 vision will kick-start investment and get the area thinking.
"Now is the time to do the hard work. We have to get it started now. Frankfurt is at the top of the GDP per capita list in Europe. We think cities like Bristol have the opportunity to move up that list," he said.
The far-reaching vision for Bristol includes an opera house in the city centre; extending the Floating Harbour by putting a barrage in the Avon Gorge; an indoor arena and velodrome and a new transport hub to serve the southern half of the city.
The 2050 vision also calls for a transport authority for the whole of the Bristol area and an elected mayor with powers over all four existing unitary authorities – Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset.
Business West and its executive chairman John Savage have led the ambitious project, taking their inspiration from a book published in 1909 which outlined a 100-year vision for Chicago.
The organisation said the vision was needed as by 2050 the area's population will have swelled by as much as 500,000, meaning 300,000 jobs will need to be created and a further 200,000 homes built.
Durie said: "This is a long-term plan: some things will happen quicker, others slower and some we just don’t yet know. By expressing a view we think other people will react and we want to kick start that process.
"We have been frustrated that any kind of strategic plans a couple of years ago were pushed into the long grass and then abolished. We just felt that this area needs to think further ahead and face some of the challenges. We have picked a timeline that is a long way out so we can focus on the world for our kids and grandchildren."
