The Riverside North

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Project Overview

This major mixed-use scheme covers 3.6 acres and is located immediately south of Bedford’s historic town centre, bordering a conservation area and the River Great Ouse.

On behalf of Bedford Borough Council, Linkcity and Coplan Estates were the joint venture development partners delivering a new town centre restaurant and leisure quarter overlooking the Great River Ouse and St Mary’s Gardens.

Riverside Bedford was a major mixed use regeneration scheme which aimed to create a vibrant restaurant and leisure hub in the centre of Bedford. In a joint venture with Coplan Estates, Linkcity was chosen as the preferred development partner for the site south of Bedford’s historic centre. As it bordered a conservation area and fronted the River Great Ouse, several layouts were discussed at the outline design stage with key stakeholders including English Heritage.

Project Information

£38M

VALUE (GDV)

New Homes

VERY GOOD

BREEAM RATING

Completed

2017

Leisure amenities

Hotel

Cinema

Restaurants

Project Partners

Bedford Borough Council

Delph Properies

Nuveen (formerly TH Real Estate)

JV with Coplan Estates

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Designing the Scheme

From the outset, our intention was to create a development of new buildings that were recognisably from the same family. The architecture embraced locally sourced materials and was inspired by the texture and scale of existing buildings, reinterpreting them with a light touch and in a modern idiom. Fair-faced brick, stone and glass formed the basis of the material palette while earth-toned materials, tonally compatible with those of the basic palette, added a balance of accent materials

Opening up Access

By developing the site in a way that is permeable to pedestrian movement, our scheme brought together various key locations that were previously isolated from each other. The project also delivered a new pedestrian and cycle bridge, as well as public realm and landscaping improvements.