Work starts on £3.5 million Gloucester Food Dock

Developer Ladybellegate Estates has finally begun work to transform the former solicitors offices off Commercial Road into the much anticipated Gloucester Food Dock.

Work is now under way on a £3.5 million development to create a home for 15 new independent food and drink venues on the waterfront at Gloucester Docks.

The 20,000 square foot Gloucester Food Dock aims to attract an exciting and eclectic mix of artisanal food operators to its quayside building next to the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, overlooking the Victoria Dock marina.

Lead contractors H Mealing & Sons is now on site after the delays inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the developer, Ladybellegate Estates, is more confident than ever of the city’s prospects.

Sarah Mansfield, co-founder of Bath-based Ladybellegate Estates, said: ‘We expect things to move very fast now.
‘We don’t think there will be anywhere else like this when we are finished. We are driving towards a permanent building – not temporary shipping containers.

‘It might look like a food court, but it will be independent businesses.

‘There has been an explosion in street food from all different cultures in recent years, and a lot of those exciting businesses are now looking to grow up. We hope to benefit from that.’

She estimated the equivalent of 120 jobs could be created as a result of the development, which could be ready to open by late summer 2022.

A number of food businesses are understood to have already expressed an interest.

‘We came here because we felt Gloucester was a city going in the right direction. Now, even with the pandemic, projects like the redevelopment of King’s Square and The Forum are still on track and happening,’ said Ms Mansfield.

‘There is a real sense of momentum. We are more optimistic than ever about the city and its prospects.’

By Andrew Merrell

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