Your say / Bristol Arena
‘We have a chance on Thursday to take a new direction for Bristol’
Many people have raised the issue of the Bristol arena with me on the doorstep. The Labour mayor has also written an extensive article about it.
It’s an important issue because it speaks to how we run our city, what we want the future of Bristol to look like and whether we trust our politicians.
I believe the arena should have been built in Bristol city centre, next to Temple Meads. Building it in Filton will consign Bristol to a 1960s style of urban planning, designed around the car and not benefitting the people of our great city.
is needed now More than ever
Green Party mayoral candidate Sandy Hore-Ruthven believes that Bristol’s arena should be built on Temple Island – photo: Martin Booth
When the issue of the arena was being debated at the council in 2019, I looked extensively at the business plan, the borrowing and its impact on the city.
I was convinced then – and I remain convinced – that the arena was perfectly financially viable and would have paid back council borrowing over an 18-year period.
The council reports all confirm this. But more importantly, an arena in the city centre is the sort of urban design we need to see if we are to create a city for the future.
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Read more: 80 per cent of people could travel by car for events at YTL Arena in Filton
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A central arena would have created jobs in the south of the city and have brought business into the city centre – particularly the hospitality industries – something sorely needed as we recover from the pandemic.
And a central arena would have begun to create a city where we don’t rely on the car to get around. If we are to meet our climate and clean-air targets then we must begin to design Bristol in a new way.
And that is our Green vision for the future: a place where we have strong communities with all the local amenities you need within a 15-minute walk – your GP surgery, primary school, youth centre, local shops and community centre.
An arena had been planned for Temple Island, before it was scrapped by Bristol mayor Marvin Rees and his cabinet. Image: Bristol City Council
That is why I want to invest £10m in our local high streets. We must design new developments to protect our open spaces and make sure streets are designed for people, where your children are safe to play with their friends and you can walk with your family down the pavement.
And this is not rocket science. This is being done in cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Barcelona.
Bristol used to be at the forefront of this kind of thinking but it is now falling behind. And it is falling behind because the city’s leadership is not listening to the people.
Local communities often know the best way to redesign their streets and the council knew full well that putting the arena on Temple Island was the best option. They voted unanimously for it but the Labour mayor overturned that decision the next day.
I believe no one has a monopoly on good ideas – me included. That is why I will have a cross-party cabinet, I will listen to communities and I will abide by full council votes on big issues that will affect our future.
We have a chance on Thursday to take a new direction for Bristol. A Green vote means investment in communities, public transport, cycling and walking. It means prioritising our green spaces and housing the homeless. It means creating 10,000 new jobs to reduce our carbon emissions.
I believe a Green future is a future to look forward to, something to get excited about. It is a future that is very different to the one planned by Labour. And that’s the choice at this election: the mayor will either be Labour or Green.
There is a real chance that Bristol can lead the way again. That starts by voting Green on Thursday.
Sandy Hore-Ruthven is the Green Party candidate for Bristol mayor
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