Have your say: Bristol arena plan

The BBC's Scott Ellis reports from Ashton Vale on the plan

Plans for a new multi-million pound arena in Bristol could be resurrected by developers.

Rival firms are vying to build the facility at several locations including the city centre, near Temple Meads Railway Station and at Ashton Vale.

An arena at Temple Meads was abandoned in 2007 due to spiralling costs but could site a new development.

Any arena at Ashton Vale would be alongside Bristol City's proposed new stadium.

That was granted planning permission, despite objections from many residents living nearby, last week.

BBC reporter Scott Ellis said the ruling Lib Dem councillors "seem to think" there would be enough space at Ashton Vale for both developments.

BRISTOL ARENA 2003: Developers propose arena which would house both of city's football teams and conferences 2004: Meetings held by city council and South West RDA over 10,000-seater arena 2003: Developer and operator are picked for arena project at Temple Meads 2006: Architects named for Bristol arena project June 2007: Cash fears over arena plan are first expressed Dec 2007: Plans are ditched after costs shoot up to £86m

Music, indoor sports and conferences could be held "two or three times a week," according to our reporter.

Liberal Democrat councillor Simon Cook told BBC Bristol: "The arena would sit next to it and would be very compatible.

"It can use the same infrastructure, it can use the same transport plan.

"The bus rapid transit is going around the stadium and there will be a station there so that there will be a commuter line directly into the centre of the city.

"Everything is there for the arena to use as well so it makes sense."

The 2007 arena was canned after costs shot up to £86m which could not be justified if publicly funded.

Around £13m has already been spent purchasing and clearing a nine-acre site for the arena near Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

Bristol City Council had committed to contribute £16m in land and money and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) had committed £30m to buy the land, clean it up and provide infrastructure, master planning and feasibility studies.

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A selection of your comments appear below...

What consideration has been given to the parking of cars? A visit Ashton Gate on a match day shows how inconsiderate the motorist is in his parking. The roads of Totterdown are narrow enough without the people attending this venue looking for free parking in the local roads. As for public transport the local service cannot cope with normal rush hour conditions. This revived enterprise appears another attempt by the council to make the conditions for local residents even more unpleasant with increased traffic pollution. If access to a motorway is important then why not use some of the redundant ground at Avonmouth.
Bob, Bristol

I moved to Bristol from Birmingham 16 years ago and love the place. One of the first things that struck me however was the lack of a quality, large multi purpose arena. Bristol is the largest city south west of Birmingham and I believe the seventh or eighth most populated in the country. The population catchment area has over two million people so how this arena hasn't been built by now and attracting world class acts and events is beyond me. It's been talked about, on and off for years but nothing has come to fruition, hopefully the people who make the decisions in this city will get their act together and give it the go ahead, I won't hold my breath though. In the mean time myself and hundreds of thousands of south westerners will continue to travel past Bristol on the way to Cardiff and Birmingham.
Craig, Bristol

Any large arena like this needs to be sited near the motorways, Ashton Vale is not easy to get to from any direction for a large amount of traffic, the traffic chaos caused around Ashton Court when the Balloon Fiesta is on is a sample of what we might expect on a regular basis and Temple Meads wouldn't be much better.
Louise, near Bristol

The best place to put the new concert venue would be at Temple Meads, where it would be located to the centre of Bristol so that visitors to the concert venue can enjoy meals and drinks in the many restaurants the city centre offers - which the suggested venue at the new Bristol City football ground can not offer. Also, many people from the city would take advantage of public transport and/or taxis if it was located at Temple Meads.
Jim, Bristol

Ashton Vale please.
Anon, Totterdown.

Trains only make sense if they run when you need them and trains don't run late enough to get people away from concerts - so people will drive. This is what happens at Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff. So Temple Meads is an irrelevance. Ashton Vale is a much better option.
Susan, Southville

I don't think I'll ever see anything like this in my lifetime as long as our city councillors behave like parish councillors. It should be central not in Ashton Vale, so that people can use trains from W-S-M, Yate and other areas can get to it easily by train and bus. I'm always embarrassed when I (frequently) travel to smaller towns like Cardiff, Swindon and even Exeter (yes- Exeter) to watch headline acts live.
Sharky, Yate

This is great news and long over due. Bristol needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into this century - Temple Meads (in my view) would bring too much congestion to the centre of town. Locating next to City's proposed new stadium would be perfect and can be accommodated in the access plans for that site - shuttling people to and from Temple Meads is simple and something I have been suggesting for years. Trams: Bristol has tracks from Temple Meads down to the Floating Harbour and Ashton Gate - revamp these and extend to Ashton Vale.
Adrian, Leigh on Sea

Temple meads makes sense for many of the reasons above: why not provide reduced ticket prices for gigs/games to those who arrive via public transport? There are also hotels nearby, and the city centre within walking distance, so visitors can make a day out of it, or even a short city break.
Jon, Bristol

I travel regularly to Bristol to see events at Colston Hall and O2 Academy. I would like to travel by train but as the last train from Temple Meads to Swindon (and Chippenham) is at 22.23 I am forced to drive. I am in favour of an arena being built near Temple Meads as one of the theoretical benefits of this site over the Ashton Vale site would be the higher percentage of people arriving by public transport. However, if public transport is unable to provide a service the argument is lost.
Martin, Swindon

The Welsh Millennium Stadium is next to the bus and train station. BUT, if you want to go there by bus or train you have to leave early to catch your bus/train and miss the end of your concert. And that's assuming that public transport actually goes anywhere near where you live. People will drive. Proximity to temple Meads is irrelevant. Ashton Vale is much more suitable.
'Southvillian', Southville

Temple Meads has to be the site - redevelop that land, and has motorway and train connections. Bristol needs an arena, as like others fed up of going to Cardiff, Birmingham and London for big concert events!!
Dale, Bristol

It would be stupid to build it at Ashton Gate as the south of Bristol is awful to get to from anywhere on the north side of the City. In fact it would be as stupid as building an Airport south of Bristol, with no decent road or rail links, when you already have a great site close to the M4 and M5 ...
Patrick, Yate

Good to see it back on the agenda. Use of the available eyesore site at Temple Meads must be best. If there is a new station people who have to drive can park and ride from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads. The knock on effects will be far more positive for other amenities in Bristol if it is in town. A far better greeting to visitors on the train than the old sorting office. Believe it when I see it tho.
Graham, Bristol

The fact of the matter is that people will drive cars to an arena (as happens at Manchester and Newcastle). Gridlock in Totterdown and Knowle and the parking chaos which plagues the current football ground might make the ecomentalists happy - and it might not inconvenience you - but it is not acceptable. Ashton Vale please.
Mrs Trellis, Totterdown

When oh when will Bristol catch up with every other city in this country.
It embarrassing to think of this city which prides itself on being one of the finest in the country, still does not have a venue where artists, perfomers and sports can come to the city that is so rich in all these areas. We all know that the council will probably bin the new Bristol city stadium because of cost and a few rare snails etc.
Please please Bristol make it a city to be proud of!
Neil, Knowle

I think that this venue should be built at Temple Meads as this would make it a lot more accessible by all transport means and would enable people coming in from outside Bristol finding the Arena more easily and also would take a lot of cars off the roads as they could travel by train / coach / bus.
Mick, Bristol

Behind the location issue, nobody commented on the projects themselves. Looking at proposed venues, they both lack architectural ambition and wow factor. Why can't we have great buildings too? Bristol is in dire need for a face lift with its long history of amorphous and unstructured city development or lack of it, our city soon will stop making any sense. Someone has to look at the problem as a whole and stop patching up corners. Besides, relying on a car transport for a venue of that scale in Bristol will be always impossible, regardless where it is built. Thus the closer it is to the major transport hubs the better, just look at Cardiff.
Andre, Bristol

It would be a crime to destroy more greenbelt land in the Ashton Vale area when derelict land by Temple Meads has already had work done to it in preparation for this sort of project. Car parking must be built into the scheme too, but having something next to train links SHOULD be the way forward, the priority... it could potentially attract more pre-gig shoppers to Cabot Circus too.
Liz, Bristol

Bristol (and the South West) desperately deserves a proper venue for concerts. I am fed up going to Cardiff or London. I amazed the Lib Dems think using more green-belt land when Bristol has this eyesore of brown-belt right in the middle. Temple Meads would be perfect for public transport, and for those wanting to drive to somewhere like Ashton Vale there is the Park and Ride and soon the brand new Rapid Transport route just for them! Let's use brown-field sites and not keep ignoring them: regenerate the heart of the city.
Huw, Bristol

The most sensible place would be Ashton Vale as for being car reliant as Mr Ferguson stated we do not have any other option but to drive ,and as for the Temple Meads site it would cause grid lock as we all know people will use there car if the weather is inclement.
Douglas, Nailsea

I think it would be an excellent idea but nothing ever gets done about it. Money gets wasted on non-essentials. I would love to go to the new arena to see WWE instead of having to travel to Cardiff or London. Good area too, as it is near the railway station and obviously much better than the old derelict building standing there at present. I think it would be very popular but I have my doubts on whether Bristol City Council will go ahead with it.
James, Bristol

I don't see why any public subsidy is justified. Isn't there enough money sloshing around at the top of the music industry? If it does get built, only Temple Meads makes sense. There's a bonus, too, in that we'd see the end of the derelict Royal Mail building. At Ashton Gate, all we'd get is more traffic while losing Green Belt (the one that the council claims to be protecting)
Pete, Stockwood

Great..........goodbye more greenbelt land then.
J, Bristol

Equally important as the arena's location is the source of the funding. Most Bristolians agree that we need an arena to attract major bands and sports events but if it couldn't be funded two years ago where's the money coming from now, in a recession? I hope we get an arena, but I'm not holding my breath.
Steve, Bristol

How strange this has suddenly appeared in the news. Only today the Bristol Evening Post reported on the old Royal Mail site being left to ruin. One day there was no money, then there are two plans, where is the money coming from in this recession?

There are lots of reasons for TM being the best site. 1) it's good use of a brown field site 2) millions has already been spent on preparing the land for such a scheme 3) second to none for public transport 4) great landmark building for city gateway for rail passengers.
Nigel, Bristol

Bristol needs this badly... along with the Stadium it will officially put Bristol on the map. We could be seeing the biggest acts around, it would also attract people from the south west region to us, just like Cabot Circus did.
Kelly, Bristol

At last it seems things are starting to happen. First the new football stadium now a music venue that can attract the top acts. It seems the council have finally got a grasp of what Bristol needs. George Ferguson (the anti-Ashton Vale campaigner) has, surprise surprise suddenly come in with his alternative. There are merits for both locations but as Temple Meads is already one of Bristol's worst places for traffic congestion Ashton Vale makes more sense (much like the NEC in Birmingham).
Jon, Bristol

I think an Arena is an excellent idea, but i think it should include an ice rink as the current one is very dated and Bristol is in desperate need of some modern facilities!!
Ian, Bristol

At last maybe we will get the venue that somewhere the size of Bristol deserves. I am a massive music fan and get so fed up of having to go to Cardiff, Birmingham and London to watch a decent music act. When good music acts do play here, at the likes of the O2 Academy or the Colston Hall, you have to be so quick because the tickets sell so fast.

Come on Bristol Council, give us what we should have had years ago - a world class venue that we can be proud of and support and that musicians want to play in.
James, Bristol

It's about time Bristol had an arena to be proud of just like all the other major cities. Bristol is a social and affluent region, with people who will always go to shows, concerts and events. You just have to go to any normal gig within Bristol to see they are normally sold out. The one thing our city doesn't have, is a class events venue.

The arena should have been built many years ago for everyone to enjoy. Shame on those who helped stifle the last bid. My only concern is that it should be accessible for all and in a good location. The run down Temple Meads area seems a perfect choice.
Trevor, Bristol

Funny how it was too expensive when money all over the world was flying around, now we are in a recession it's affordable. Oh, and next you will tell me its just a coincidence, they have decided to start the ball rolling again just after Bristol City got their plans agreed. Next BCFC plans will be stopped due to the new stadia, then yet again it will be shelved...
Snowis, Bristol