Bristol Arena decision delayed

As Bristol’s long-awaited arena continues to divide opinion, an actual decision on the location remains elusive.

The debate between building the project at Temple Meads or the Brabazon Hangar at the former Filton Airfield has dominated headlines since Marvin Rees confirmed the latter was up for consideration as an alternative site early this year.

While a huge sway of public opinion is in favour of the city centre site, the mayor has urged people to wait for the results of a value for money study before making a final decision on their preferred location for the 12,000 capacity arena.

Alas, there is still no definitive date as to when scrutiny councillors will get their hands on this major report and, as such, it seems a final decision on the location will not be taking place at cabinet’s May 1 meeting – but will likely be delayed until the end of May.

The derelict site at Temple Meads has been long been earmarked as the site for the arena

During an overview and scrutiny management board meeting at City Hall on Thursday, April 12, members reiterated their concerns about having enough time to properly scrutinise the report within such a tight window.

Brabazon Hangar would bring private investment in the project

Board chairman Geoff Gollop said he had made the point to Marvin Rees that the board “needed more than a week” to scrutinise such a big decision for the city.

“My understanding is that there will be a decision on the arena in May, although it will not be made at the May 1 cabinet meeting,” he told members.

Clare Campion-Smith has resigned for health reasons

But the chance of any decision in May has been thrown into question with the announcement of a by-election following the resignation of Lib Dem Clare Campion-Smith last week.

Campion-Smith, who stepped down for health reasons, served the Westbury-On-Trym and Henleaze ward and an election date has been set for May 24.

Speaking at the meeting Shahzia Daya, head of legal and democratic services at the council, said the by-election “could affect the decision”.

She added: “We generally stop any big decisions during an election period. It is an issue we will have to consider fully.”

But members argued a decision on the arena would not influence the outcome of a by-election in a ward where it would not be built.

As well as a short time frame, there were also concerns about the how much information would be publicly available.

Anthony Negus has called for the decision-making process to be as transparent as possible

Anthony Negus, Lib Dem councillor for Cotham, said he was worried a lot of the information in the value for money report would be made exempt and therefore unavailable to the public.

“I would like to ask the mayor to ensure that anything confidential is separated from the report so we are able to be as public and transparent as possible with this decision,” said Negus.

“We need to have the maximum amount of information possible in the public domain, it is too important a decision.”

At a full council meeting in March, the Green group tabled a motion calling for the arena to be built at Temple Meads and not Filton.

This was passed with some 34 votes in favour, including support from a number of Labour councillors, who were given a free vote on the issue.

But the ultimate decision – when it comes – will rest with the mayor.

Read more: ‘Arena in Filton would be utter madness’