page_title: Castle Park, Bristol
section_title: Mary-le-Port development
hierarchical_section_title: Castle Park, Bristol / History / Mary-le-Port development
caption_attribution_description: English: St Mary le Port Church, Bristol
context_page_description: Castle Park is a public open space in Bristol, England, managed by Bristol City Council. It is bounded by the Floating Harbour and Castle Street to the south, Lower Castle Street to the east, and Broad Weir, Newgate and Wine Street to the north. Its western boundary is less obviously defined and has been the subject of controversy, perhaps because the area around High Street and St Mary le Port Church, though not part of the park and always intended for development, is often considered at the same time as the park.
  Opened on 30 September 1978, the park occupies the site of what was once Bristol's main shopping district. The area was largely destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz, and that which remained was subsequently demolished. In the years since the end of the Second World War, Castle Park has become home to a number of anti-fascist memorials.
  The ruined tower of St Mary-le-Port Church stands to the west of the park, surrounded by derelict financial office buildings. Adjoining the ruins of St Peter's Church in the middle of the park is a sensory herb garden, and five silver birch trees as a memorial to the beaches of the D-Day landings.
context_section_description: In 2006, Bristol City Council announced its intention to redevelop the area to the west of Castle Park, known as the 'Mary-le-Port' site. These plans encompassed the by then derelict financial buildings, and the area to the west of St Peter's church, about 5% of the park. It was to be a 400,000 square feet (37,000 m²) mixed-use development to 'regenerate this historic heart of Bristol' and to 'improve connections between Broadmead, the Old City and Redcliffe' and 'enhance the setting of St Mary-le-Port church'. The council selected Deeley Freed as its preferred developer.
  The scheme provoked opposition from park users who felt that any reduction in the area of the park was not acceptable. 'Surprised by the extent of feeling', Bristol City Council decided to revise the plans. Campaigners then applied to have 'Town Green' status applied to the park, but this was declined in 2009.
  In 2010, the Mary-le-Port site was listed as being 'for sale' by Bristol City Council.
caption: St Mary-le-Port church, surrounded by dereliction
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "1429", "Image ImageLength": "2144", "Image BitsPerSample": "8", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D60", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2009:12:22 12:16:41", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[0, 0, 2, 2]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[51, 27, 357913939/26603516]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[2, 35, 536870909/17765642]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "0", "Image GPSInfo": "870", "Image ExifOffset": "326", "Image DateTimeOriginal": "2009:12:22 12:16:41", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:12:22 12:16:41", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:12:22 12:16:41", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "8/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "60", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "60", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "60", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "75", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "f8aaa1aab65c2aa16547c8f6f20df8ef"}