Bristol residents get glimpse of new Tesco
People living around Ashton Gate have been getting a first glimpse at how the site would look if planning permission was given for Tesco to build on the home of Bristol City.
The Robins are planning to move to a new 30,000-seater ground in Ashton Vale, but the plan hinges on selling their current ground to Tesco.
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Britain's biggest supermarket is believed to be offering City in the region of £20 million for the site, whereas the club would receive a lot less if it was sold for housing.
Plans opened to the public over the weekend show how the site will look if Tesco moves in.
They include a petrol station and large car park, but the store will also have three access points for people travelling on foot or bicycles. A statement from the club says a transport assessment study will be carried out to measure the impact it would have on nearby Winterstoke Road.
The club also argues that not only will selling the site to Tesco make sense financially, it will also bring long-term benefits to the area.
"A foodstore development is less affected by recession compared with other land uses and will therefore be a more reliable development proposal for the 2018 World Cup bidding process, which starts shortly," says a club statement.
For its part, the supermarket says the store will bring 400 jobs and replace Ashton Gate with a low single-storey building. They also hint at any new building containing environmentally friendly features such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Construction costs for the new store – added to the money that will be spent on City's new ground – have been estimated at £120m, a lot of which will go into the local community, Tesco claims.
The club are anticipating some opposition to the plans, and have invited feedback from people who have seen the plans.
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by matt, Bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 9:04PM
“All you need is Banksy to design this new Tescos and the Evening Post Editor would explode in excitement over this.
Come on - how about some more balanced reporting. Yes it would be good if Bristol City got a new stadium to match premiership ambitions, yes it would be nice to have the world cup in Bristol. (Assuming Bristol City get in the Premiership and England get to host the World Cup)
But not at any cost, have the Evening Post objectively assessed all the social costs and benefits of a huge Supermarket in an area that appears to be already over subscribed with food retailers.
Finally, why are Tesco paying 4 times the amount any other developer for the land is prepared to pay, seems a poor deal for Tesco who are normally good at striking deals - why has the Evening Post not asked this question?”
by george, Briz
Monday, June 22 2009, 7:56PM
“Another store will be needed to service the 6000 homes being built at Yanley.”
by Richard Lane, Knowle
Monday, June 22 2009, 7:41PM
“Michael.
Where do you get your information from.That land has never been owned by the council it has always been owned by the club. You might be getting confused with Eastville which the council bought off Rovers in the 1930's to save them going bust.
Has anyone on hear thought that the customers using the new Tesco could come from other areas not presently served by supermarkets ie: anywhere down the portway or Long Ashton and it might not be a case of Tesco stealing other competitors customers from the area (heaven forbid), as if they have a right to those customers.”
by Richard, London
Monday, June 22 2009, 3:54PM
“I may be a City fan and want the club to extract as much cash from the sale as possible to ease the investment required for the new stadium BUT...A huge Tesco on this site is the wrong way to go. As some have said here there is saturation of supermarkets in the very near vicinity.
Perhaps a compromise solution would be for Tesco to be given permission but on the condition they bring other non-competing partners on board.
They should also strongly re-think the landscaping and ensure it is a mixed grass and soft planting but not the type that requires difficult maintenance and cleaning of rubbish which will cause a huge rat infestation problem as has been proved at other tesco sites around the country. Specialist knowledge of outdoor areas should require experts not simply be given the go ahead from plan drawings of plan view planting icons.
Planning need to be strong, smart and consult with experts in the face of a slick tesco machine.”
by Heffer, Bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 3:24PM
“Get it built. Sooner the better.”
by Si, Bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 2:49PM
“It has already been made clear that if it was not for the economic downturn the ground would have used for housing. It is not a case of wether a Tesco is "needed", it is purely to do with finances. All the talk-up of how another supermarket will be good for the area is foolish, why can't people see this? It's all about the money! They don't CARE about anything else.”
by Brian, Bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 2:34PM
“"If people do use it, it proves it was needed."
Weird logic. It doesn't prove a thing, it would just mean people shopped in Tesco. They're managing perfectly okay without one now... In terms of public "need" another supermarket is far, far down the list in that already saturated area.”
by david, Planet Earth
Monday, June 22 2009, 1:54PM
“What a bunch of ninnies.
No one will be forcing anyone to shop at the new Tesco - it's just another choice and there's nothing wrong with that.
If people don't want to use it, it will close. If people do use it, it proves it was needed.
I cannot see those people who prefer to do their whole weekly shop at the shops in North Street (if there are many) changing their habits just because of Tesco.
The complaints should be coming from the other supermarkets as they will be Tescos targets - not the small shop keepers on North street.
I'm not sure that there are any planning reasons strong enough to stop it going through and, if that is the case, residents should try to screw as much as they can out of it.”
by mark, bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 1:46PM
“Steve has summed it up by listing the supermarkets already in this area.
How short sighted some of you are.It doesnt create jobs.it takes jobs from elsewhere.The residents of Bedminster and Ashton wont have more money to spend on food just because they have a tesco,they will stop spending it somewhere else,there is a tesco in brislington that isnt exactly the other side of Bristol.All thats needed now is Morrissons and theyve got the lot,maybe that could be built on Ashton park”
by Steve, Bristol
Monday, June 22 2009, 12:43PM
“In the Bedminster/ Ashton area we have Sainsbury's, ASDA, LIDL, Aldi and 2 Tesco Expresses. Isn't that enough?
All the evidence shows that new supermarkets cause a net LOSS of jobs - because of the effect they have on other businesses. This proposal will damage currently thriving North Street, and create more traffic problems.”