Bristol City Council is delivering the resilient, future‑ready infrastructure that underpins a growing, low‑carbon city.
We are investing in the systems that enable people, businesses and communities to thrive – from high‑quality digital connectivity and sustainable transport, to long‑term flood resilience and secure, low‑carbon energy.
Working with the West of England Combined Authority, and partners, we are strengthening connections within the city and across the region, unlocking growth and improving access to jobs and opportunity.
At the same time, we are building resilience: protecting communities from climate risks, scaling up clean energy through innovative delivery models, and ensuring infrastructure can support both current demand and future population growth.
By taking an integrated approach – aligning infrastructure investment with regeneration, housing and economic development priorities we are working to ensure that infrastructure in Bristol does not just keep pace with growth, but actively enables it.
The success of Bristol as a digital city will depend upon how well we use and develop our city-wide connections. Success will rely on more than infrastructure alone – we will need citizens with the knowledge, skills and access to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the city’s strong digital sector. The council is playing its part with an outward-looking digital strategy which looks for opportunities to partner and improve citizens’ digital opportunities. The council is also using its own 250 km duct and fibre network – BNET – to attract investment in our digital infrastructure and partner with telecoms companies to bring full fibre services to more homes and businesses.
It’s more than just knowledge, skills and access – it’s confidence as well. We need council officers and city leaders with digital knowledge, skills and ambition, as they are the ones who will be driving many of these initiatives.
The last few years demonstrated the significance of digital networks for work, connecting people and for access to public services and information. Our priorities therefore include increasing digital opportunities through working with digital investors to improve the city’s mobile communication networks and extending full fibre access to ensure nobody is left behind.
We cannot develop this vision on our own, so are seeking collaboration and alignment from long-term partners. With our extensive council-owned ducting and fibre network and the world class Bristol Operations Centre, we make a well-placed and attractive partner.
Our council-owned duct and fibre network, BNET, is already the third biggest duct network in the city at over 250km and growing.
BNET is a citywide open access network and works with communications providers, partners and investors to help Bristol achieve its digital infrastructure ambition, BNET already connects many schools, libraries and city management functions like CCTV and Traffic Signals, but we are constantly looking at ways of growing BNET.
We’re currently looking at further commercialisation of BNET to deliver digital transformation, which aligns with our social, environmental and economic goals and priorities. We are open to conversations with forward-looking organisations and investors to explore new, public-private business models that meet the challenges of the digital infrastructure needed for our future city.
Open Data is data that anyone can access, use, and share. Bristol gives access to over 230 datasets which can be viewed and downloaded in a variety of formats. They can be used for any purpose and there is no charge to use the site. Datasets cover a range of themes such as population, education and transport. The data is updated regularly and new datasets are added over time. The platform includes data on the Air Quality in Bristol, supporting and evidencing the One City Plan objective to improve air quality in the City Centre by the introduction of the Clean Air Zone.
