News / Bristol Arena
Mayor blames politics for arena delays
George Ferguson has blamed councillors for putting the arena at risk to score political points.
Following a meeting where planning permission was deferred due to the lack of a “concrete travel plan”, the mayor said: “The arena has now been put at risk by the decision that was taken yesterday to defer.
He added: “They decided to delay when they knew there was a real cost involved in doing that in terms of construction inflation costs and maintaining the project team.”
is needed now More than ever
The cost has been estimated at £80,000 a week. It is hoped the plans will be discussed again at next month’s planning meeting.
Ferguson called on councillors to amend their decision “before the election” in May.
“It was clear to me that it wasn’t just planning, but politics,” the mayor concluded.
His comments came shortly after Labour’s mayoral candidate Marvin Rees backed the councillors’ decision.
He said: “I want to see the arena going ahead, but it has to be properly planned, not just rushed through as a vanity project.
“To build a 12,000 capacity arena with only 200 parking spaces, and without a transport plan, is folly.
“Last night’s cross-party decision was taken to protect the residents whose streets would be gridlocked during events and those visitors who would be forced to walk to the arena from the city centre.”
The decision was not cross-party. The vote to defer was won 7-4, with the Greens and Lib Dems either voting against or abstaining.
The mayor said he believed, as a former architect, planner and president of the RIBA, that the arena planning applications contained all the appropriate conditions to deal with councillors concerns.
Read more: Setback for arena after plans deferred