The Gloucester Quays site at Gloucester Docks has seen major changes in the last 15 years.

With the news that it is due to be sold , Punchline takes a look back at the extensive changes from derelict buildings full of asbestos to thriving shopping centre, cinema and food court on the river.

Around the time of the Docks regeneration, Gloucester had economic activity lower than the national average and an unemployment rate higher. To combat this, the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC) was founded in 2005.

Fielding and Platt were one of Gloucester's biggest companies in the 20th century, an engineering company that exported hydraulic machinery to all sorts of places. However, it moved in the 90s and the space it held where Travelodge currently sits remained derelict for a number of years, an eyesore to those shopping in the neighbouring Gloucester Retail Park.

The 25-hectare space that now holds the Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet also contained numerous other derelict buildings.

The Outlet Centre opened in 2009 and has just celebrated its twelfth birthday. It now boasts a new cinema, 52 shops, 14 restaurants, bars and cafes, two hotels and a children's tutoring company. There are also a number of independent restaurants on the neighbouring docks.

Peel L&P, who are current owners of the plot, created 3,500 jobs for Gloucester and helped to bring more life to the historic docks. Footfall was up to 7 million a year in 2019.

You can read more about the regeneration of Gloucester Quays and the six other magnificent places in Gloucester that have been transformed from page 20 of Punchline's July 2019 magazine here: