Hope for well-known glass company facing move

A well-known glassware company is hoping to move to a new site as the end of its lease approaches.

Bristol Blue Glass, which has been told it will need to leave its factory in Bath Road at the end of the month, was desperate to find a new home to maintain the 18th Century skill, which it revived in 1988.

At one stage, head glass blower David Barry thought the company would be unable to move, but he said he was now hopeful a deal would be made and the factory would be able to relocate by the end of April.

The proposed new location has not been disclosed but Barry said it was closer to the city centre, which he hoped would increase visitor numbers to the site.

Barry said the business' new home would need both a manufacturing area and an appropriate space to sell items.

"That's quite difficult to find under one premises," he added.

If the move is finalised, he said the company would likely have a transition period while equipment was transferred to the new site.

Bristol Blue Glass was set up 38 years ago to re-establish a glass-making tradition which had been lost to the city for more than half a century.

The news of the company's struggle to find a new site previously gained attention online, with thousands of people signing a petition asking for Bristol City Council to ensure Bristol Blue Glass' survival.

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