Bristol City stadium 'at risk without housing'

The chief executive of Bristol City Football Club has warned the club's £65-million stadium plan could be in jeopardy if a housing scheme to help fund it is not given the go-ahead.

Colin Sexstone will tell Bristol city councillors to "see the bigger picture" when they consider the application at a meeting to be held next Wednesday.

Council planners have recommended approval for the 30,000-seat stadium, but upset the club after failing to back the Southlands part of the development at Ashton Vale.

This section, which includes 62 houses and 54 flats, could pay for up to £10m of the stadium price tag, according to the club. Officers say

that, while the rest of the development has passed the test to justify building on green-belt land, Southlands has not.

Mr Sexstone says this is "a nonsense".

Speaking to the Bristol Evening Post, he said: "It will leave up to a £10m gap to be plugged.

"People say 'Oh, what's another £10m?' but that's a lot of money when we're having to plug other gaps. It's very annoying.

"The whole thing is a massive jigsaw.

"I don't want to say it's all or nothing but it will have serious consequences.

"I don't know what they're trying to do, if you don't have one you probably won't have the other. It will jeopardise it.

"At the meeting we're going to say this is an opportunity to build a stadium but it's a single application.

"We've got to fund it to make it happen.

"They have got to look at the bigger picture.

"Officers have made this recommendation but councillors don't have to accept it."

Mr Sexstone said if the south and east development committee does reject the housing element, the club would have a number of options.

It could resubmit the proposal with variations, look at putting something else on the land or stall the project.

But he said the FA would be looking very closely at the application decision and it would affect Bristol's bid to host World Cup games.

On the news that protest group Berate had disbanded following Tesco's withdrawal from the scheme, he said he was not surprised but hoped to work with everyone to make the stadium happen.

The Labour group in Southville and Bedminster has given its backing to the announcement of Sainsbury's involvement in the stadium plan.

Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South, said: "This really is a win-win situation. The future of the Ashton Gate site has been a significant worry for residents, and I understand their concern.

"Sainsbury's needs a proposal which delivers housing on their current site, and a superstore which takes into account the views of local residents at Ashton Gate."