Setback for arena after plans deferred

Plans to bring the long-awaited 12,000-capacity arena to Bristol have hit a stumbling block after councillors voted to defer their decision over planning permission.

The proposals were sent back to council planners amid concerns raised about parking, cycle spaces, coach drop-offs and park & ride at a four-hour meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

The move is likely to push back the early-2018 opening date for the £92 million venue and cost the council hundreds of thousands of pounds.

In a long debate, councillors said they felt the plans had been brought before them too early and many of the details had been rushed.

Labour councillor Afzal Shah called the proposals “deficient” in detail, while fellow councillor Olly Mead said he wanted to see a “concrete travel plan” for the £92 million venue. 

Helen Holland, Labour leader, added: “I would hate to throw this out, but I just don’t think it’s ready for us to decide on.”

Peter Abraham, Conservative chair of the committee, said: “It will be a successful economic benefit and it will be a wonderful asset to Bristol, but I’m mindful that unless we get it right, there will be people in Bristol that might well suffer.”

The move will come as a blow for mayor George Ferguson who has been pressing for progress after promising to deliver an arena for the city in his 2012 manifesto.

The planning application will now return to the committee at a later date. But Zoe Wilcox, the council’s director of planning, warned councillors that there would be no guarantee their demands for more detail would be met, arguing their concerns were already covered in conditions added to the application.

A figure of £300,000 was mentioned as a possible cost of delays to the project, but the exact figure will not be clear until the arena has been built.

Under the plans, the arena would host large-scale gigs, sports events and major conferences. Outside the arena would be a square for outdoor concerts and markets.

When planning permission is granted, work can start on construction on what will be the first phase of a £200 million development of Arena Island.

An £11 million bridge has already been completed to link the island across the River Avon to Cattle Market Road. A new pedestrian bridge is also planned further up the river.

The site will have 200 parking spaces to begin with, dropping to 45 when the second phase of the development gets underway.

Mayor Ferguson approved plans for a feasibility study for a car park to deal with the overflow on the site of the Kwik Fit garage on Bath Road earlier this week.

But he told his cabinet: “While I recognise the need to find an alternative arrangement for operational car parking, when phase two of Arena Island goes ahead, I am not minded to agree a substantial car park on that site and certainly not eight storeys.”

Read more: Arena builders named amid questions over bid