Temporary partial closure of a section of St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, from 23 August 2021

UPDATE: Issued 16 September 2021

Please be aware that part of St Michael’s Hill remains closed and is expected to reopen on Friday 24 September. Diversions will be in place.

The road has been closed while work takes place to improve our heating and energy system. This work has been completed on time however, the road will remain closed until Friday 24 September to allow separate works to take place which are unrelated to the Trust.

The road is temporarily closed to vehicles from its junction with Perry Road/Upper Maudlin Street to just south of its junction with Horfield Road. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

Patients, visitors and staff needing to access Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, Bristol Heart Institute and St Michael’s Hospital can use a shorter diversion route. View the map of this route.

The free hospital shuttle bus will be running as normal and using the longer signposted diversion route.

If you're travelling to our hospitals during the road closure please allow more time for your journey.

***

Part of St Michael’s Hill in Bristol will be closed for up to four weeks from Monday 23 August 2021. Diversions will be in place.

A section of the road will be temporarily closed to vehicles from its junction with Perry Road/Upper Maudlin Street to just south of its junction with Horfield Road. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

Patients, visitors and staff needing to access Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, Bristol Heart Institute and St Michael’s Hospital can use a shorter diversion route which can be found on this map. Please note the route shown on this map is for light vehicles only and is not suitable for heavy goods vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles should follow the diversion signs.

The free hospital shuttle bus will be running as normal and using the longer signposted diversion route.

If you're travelling to our hospitals during the road closure please allow more time for your journey. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience at this time. 

The work is taking place to build a new district heating network for the Trust as part of our efforts to be more sustainable. You can find out more about the project below.

 

 

About the CHP and district heating facility:

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is creating a new heating and energy system which will cut carbon emissions dramatically at Bristol’s city centre hospitals and increase resilience for the system.

The first phase of this work has seen the Trust replace its existing 1MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine with a larger 3.36MW CHP and district heating facility which is enabling the organisation to efficiently generate more low carbon electricity and heat. 

The CHP will use natural gas to generate low cost and low carbon electricity to supply the Trust, reducing the need to import grid electricity.

The CHP engine takes the heat generated from this process to distribute hot water through insulated district heating pipes to provide a heat supply for the hospitals.

Generating electricity and heat through one fuel source simultaneously is more efficient than traditional power generation as the heat that is ordinarily wasted when generating electricity is recovered and used in the hospitals’ heating system.

This facility has been connected to the Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, Terrell Street ward block and St Michael’s Hospital.

The current works are to extend the facility to the remaining hospital buildings (the Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Bristol Eye Hospital, Bristol Dental Hospital and other support buildings run by the Trust).

Vital Energi, which is carrying out the work, will work closely with the Trust to keep any disruption to a minimum.

This work is part of the Trust’s commitment to sustainability and follows the Trust declaring a climate emergency in October 2019 when the Trust set an ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The scheme will support these targets by reducing emissions, reducing heat losses, and ensuring a resilient and secure energy supply for our hospitals.