‘Anyone can make decisions – getting them right is the challenge’

Marvin Rees has defended delaying his decision on the Bristol Arena and hit out at those seeking to simplify the debate surrounding the long-awaited project.

The mayor has not pulled any punches in his criticism of “loud, dogmatic voices” calling for the arena to be located at Temple Meads and says he will not sign up to building the multi-million pound development without analysing the full facts.

Billed as “the most important decision made by a civic leader in the city in decades”, political opponents have grudgingly acknowledged it is not one that can be made without careful analysis of evidence.

But many have questioned why the value for money report, commissioned by the mayor, did not contain information that came to light through the scrutiny process, with Lib Dem councillor Anthony Negus accusing Rees of presiding over too many costly delays.

The mayor announced the decision to delay a decision on Monday

“Anyone can make decisions – getting them right is the challenge,” said the mayor in his blog. “And this is a decision that will impact on the city for 50 years.

“Just saying ‘let’s build an arena with no clear criteria for success, and the costs, jobs, effectiveness and sustainability don’t matter’ is the very definition of a vanity project.

“I will not sign up to that, I will make an evidence-based decision for the best outcome for the city using public money.”

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Read more: Rees slams ‘dogmatic loud voices’ as he postpones arena decision

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He criticised members of the council’s scrutiny committee for “erroneously debating a binary choice” between an arena at Temple Meads or Filton, saying if it were that simple, “everyone” would opt for the city centre location.

The mayor’s announcement that he is postponing his final decision followed three intense scrutiny meetings, which heard from report authors KPMG, arena operators Arena Island Ltd, Arena Island developers Buckingham Group and Brabazon hangar owners YTL.

During the process, the Buckingham Group stated that it could deliver the project under the current target and remove the risk to the council – an offer Rees has asked them to formally put on the table.

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Read more: Contractors ‘guarantee’ arena at Temple Meads can be delivered on budget

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The mayor says there are bigger socio-economic questions around the best use of the land at Temple Meads to maximise benefits to the city, as well as transport and environmental issues.

“Despite the demands for instant agreements, we have held our nerve,” Rees continued. “We inherited a project that was underfunded and far more expensive than had ever been told, but we have worked to make an arena deliverable.

“I am committed to delivering an arena which our city needs, can afford, and which Bristolians can be proud of.”

Each of the opposition parties have been quick to respond to delay the arena decision, and praised the cross-party scrutiny committee that the mayor sought to disparage.

The proposed arena at Filton would be built within the Brabazon hangar

Conservative group leader Mark Weston said that while it is right to test the credibility of the financial offers from the Arena Island developers and operator, these are the sort of conversations that should have been ongoing since Rees took office.

“I suspect none of these facts would ever have seen the light of day without the meticulous examination of scrutiny councillors last week,” said Weston, adding: “I urge him to make a decision as soon as possible because, by the looks of it, this delay is entirely of the mayor’s own making.”

Green group leader Eleanor Combley praised the work of scrutiny councillors and said: “I hope that by continuing to work together we can support the mayor to both keep the delay short, and make a good decision for the future of Bristol.”

Anthony Negus

Negus, the leader of the Lib Dem group, voiced his impatience at further delays, saying he had already highlighted “the glaring absence of several pieces of information months ago”.

“Every delay has a price, with the risk of the Temple Meads option being conveniently priced out, leaving the way open for the much poorer option at Filton.

“We still don’t know the full extent of the damage that could be done to the heart of Bristol by not making a positive commitment to the arena – where it belongs.”

Read more: ‘Bristol Arena report is comparing apples with pears’