‘What’s so bad about something nice happening in Filton?’

If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably a bit tired of all the talk about the Bristol Arena. If it could just hurry up and get built, then we can all stop talking about it and go about our lives without having to endure opinion piece after opinion piece (yes, the irony is not lost on me) on the subject, party political squabbles, the local media’s apparent obsession with its tumultuous journey, and even a bit of mayoral jousting. Surely it can’t be that complicated?

Well, that’s what most people who write about it these days would have you believe. And, if local media is anything to go by, there really is only one choice: Temple Meads. And I find that profoundly worrying. Not the site in question, per se, but the assumption that it is okay to represent only one view.

As things stand, I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that the people of Bristol are being persuaded that, while there are usually two sides to an argument, the current Bristol Arena debacle is somehow the exception. So, for my own sanity at least, something needs to be said for the other side.

But where to start? Personally, on the face of things, I would much rather the arena be in the centre. I live in St Paul’s, so it would be a nice, convenient short walk for me. I also run a cafe in St Paul’s, and the prevailing logic is that there would be business generated by a city centre arena, too. Both good things, with more besides.

However, we absolutely need to look at every aspect of the argument – and, importantly, get past our personal preferences – to think about what really is best for Bristol as a whole. That all said, I think it’s helpful to take a look at a little of the arena’s history.

In 2007, four years after the idea was initially proposed, the powers-that-be canned the idea after costs for the project reached £86m, and the enterprise was deemed too expensive to deliver. Since then, the project has been reopened, with costs spiralling year on year, and currently standing at £188m. Straight away, alarm bells should be ringing – but apparently not. Apparently, we’re all fine with the arena costing £188m after it was deemed TOO EXPENSIVE at £86m. Let that sink in for a moment.

In May 2016, when Marvin Rees was elected as Bristol mayor, he inherited plans for a ‘shovel-ready’ arena on the Temple Meads site. Simple, no? No. Not only had the city council’s planning committee labelled the latest batch of proposals ‘defective’ a couple of months previously, Rees’ administration also inherited a council budget deficit way bigger than he’d been expecting.

An independent report was commissioned from Steve Bundred, former chief executive of the Audit Commission, and his findings were not good. Particularly, it found that while there were financial problems that were not of the council’s making, there was a ‘collective failure of leadership’ in the addressing of the issues, and the savings that needed to be made had not been made, even to the extent that council members weren’t even aware of how big the problem had become.

Essentially, the previous leadership had been headed into a massive whirlpool and, instead of rowing out of it, had sailed – knowingly or ignorantly – straight into the middle.

Saying as little as possible about the recent dramatic claims by certain local political and ex-political figures – George Ferguson’s ludicrous declaration that a Filton arena would be a “betrayal of the people” (funny how I hear Theresa May’s voice saying this every time I read it) and Labour councillor Jo Sergeant’s amazing claim in a recent scrutiny meeting that it would “sign the death warrant for Bristol city centre” – Marvin Rees realistically has to decide which of two offers is best, in the big picture of the thousand and one hard financial decisions he now faces.

On the one hand, Arena Island Ltd – a joint venture between venue operators SMG and Live Nation, and the latest company to be contracted the Temple Meads site – has offered £55m to offset the spiralling costs of the project, and has apparently been turned down “without explanation”. They won’t divulge the terms of the deal, as it is ‘commercially sensitive’, giving instead a vague picture of what it may look like. But it should be taken as read that no-one offers that much money without expecting something in return.

On the other hand, Malyasia’s YTL – the owners of the Brabazon Hangar in Filton – have offered to build their own arena at a fraction of the cost, which would free the council to use the Temple Meads site for other things, which the recent independent KPMG review has indicated would be much more cost effective and provide the city with more to gain financially.

Part of the deal there is that the council would be committed to investing money into improving transport links to that area of Bristol; something that is already well underway anyway. And it wouldn’t be the council-owned arena that we’ve all been dreaming of. But as things stand, the city centre one might not be completely, either, depending on the terms of the latest deal offered.

This is a tough choice, and not one with a simple, clear-cut answer.

I want a city centre arena. I think it would be great. And maybe one day we’ll get one of those, once the city’s coffers have a bit more cash to spare than they have now (Birmingham has two arenas; why can’t we?). But what’s so bad about something nice happening in Filton? It’s part of Bristol too, after all. And, to state the obvious somewhat, improving transport links in and out of Bristol is something that will not only take people from the city centre to Filton, but also increase the viability of people travelling the other way. I reckon that’s not a total negative.

But for now, we need to allow the current administration to knuckle down and consider the options in a rational, reasonable, serious manner, and come to the conclusions they deem appropriate. Of course, engage in the process. Challenge obscurity and campaign for transparency if you don’t understand what’s going on. But don’t let people tell you this is a simple matter of location preference. There’s not one thing to think about here, but a million different things.

Don’t get caught up in the charismatic PR machine of the previous administration. (Single issue politics is always a bit ugly.) If you care about Bristol’s libraries, social services, parks, Crisis Prevention Fund, and even the public toilets, then you have a duty – like Bristol’s mayor – to consider the impact that spending more than we can reasonably afford on a city centre arena may have for us as a city.

This is not a one-sided argument. While the councillors and public servants hash out what they think is best for our great city, let’s keep asking questions on both sides, for the good of our own sanity as well as for the sake of doing – and achieving – our collective best.

Josh Bowker is the owner of Milk Teeth on Portland Square in St Paul’s