News / Bristol Arena
‘Filton arena would be a massive vote of no confidence for Bristol city centre’
A costly report and lengthy scrutiny process have done little to dampen the flames of debate raging around the location of Bristol’s long-awaited arena.
It is a matter that has divided opinion in the city, with politicians, members of the public, traders and even local music legends, including Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, adding their voices to the ongoing arguments.
Speaking on the subject at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Tory councillor Geoff Gollop criticised KPMG’s value for money study – commissioned by the council – and reiterated the level of cross-party support for the project to be built at Temple Meads.
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As chair of the council’s scrutiny committee, he argued that a decision to locate the arena at the Brabazon Hangar in Filton would be “a massive vote of no confidence in Broadmead and Cabot Circus”, with negative impacts that would outweigh any positive.
But mayor Marvin Rees hit back at scrutiny councillors, questioning if they asked for solid proof of new offers – made by Arena Island Ltd and contractors Buckingham Group – that came to light during the process.
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Read more: Contractors ‘guarantee’ that arena at Temple Meads can be delivered on budget
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He also took the opportunity to set the record straight after facing criticism for apparently “refusing to attend” the scrutiny meetings, saying that a formal invitation was never received.
In response, Gollop apologised for the group’s failure to issue an invitation – saying a phone call was made to the mayor’s office – and reminded Rees that he, and any councillor, is always welcome to attend the meetings.
The proposed arena at Filton would be built within the Brabazon hangar
He also suggested the criticism should be levelled at KPMG for failing to contact the companies about their latest offers.
Delivering the committee’s report to cabinet, he said: “We have various criticisms of that report. Members recognise that it was far from a binary decision, but comparing a well-established project with two early stage proposals presented some difficulties.
“The value for money concept was too narrow. No consideration had been given to the impact on the retail and leisure trade in the city centre if ‘Cribbs two’ goes ahead and the arena were to be located at Filton
“Filton decision would be a massive vote of no confidence in Broadmead and Cabot Circus and that would produce a negative value impact on the city so significant as to outweigh any of the benefits outlined in the KPMG report.”
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Read more: Bristol councillors overwhelmingly in support of city centre arena
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All but one of the cross-party scrutiny group voted overwhelmingly in favour of the arena being built at Temple Meads.
The report to cabinet stated that members felt the existing arena figures are cautious and the Filton projections optimistic, that insufficient attention had been paid to social value compared to financial and that the environmental impact has been ignored in terms of the Brabazon Hangar proposal.
It also acknowledged that the Temple Meads is close to “shovel ready” while the Filton site is still in its infancy, with much to overcome before it could get off the ground.
Eleanor Combley, leader of the Bristol Green group, echoed the views that KPMG had “not adequately taken into account social, cultural, environmental, broader economic and risk issues which could then form the basis for appropriate decision making.”
She added that she hoped cross-party councillors and members of the public could continue to have input into the decision-making process.
The mayor postponed his final decision on the arena location while he seeks clarity on the offers from Arena Island and Buckingham.
He has lambasted what he has called “loud, dogmatic” voices calling for the project to be built at Temple Meads and said he won’t make such an important decision without carefully weighing up all the evidence.
Read more: ‘Anyone can make decisions, getting them right is the challenge’
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