I'm sure we'll get our new stadium, says Bristol City chairman

Bristol City Football Club chairman Steve Lansdown says he is now feeling "positive" about his plans to build a new edge-of-town stadium.

It follows a top-level meeting with council leaders in the wake of the recent city council planning meeting which debated the project.

Although councillors decided they were minded to approve the new stadium plans for the Championship club, they also ruled against some new housing alongside on the grounds it was in the green belt.

Cash generated from the site proposed for housing, known as Southlands, was a key factor in financing the new stadium.

Mr Lansdown was on holiday in Africa at the time those planning committee decisions were taken.

Now back in the city, he told the Evening Post: "The decision we got at the planning meeting was on balance a good decision albeit it took a long time to get to it. From the stadium perspective it was a good one."

But he admits to being "extremely disappointed" about rejection of the housing.

He added: "As we have said, there are certain projects which add to the area and are enabling projects for the new stadium itself – the redevelopment of Ashton Gate being one, housing development around the new stadium site being another. So that was unhelpful."

In money terms, he revealed, the Southlands set-back is not as serious a blow as a similar one over the future use of the club's current Ashton Gate stadium site would be.

"But all these things add up and whenever you are doing a project you have a number of things which have to happen and it's often the small things which trip you up," he said.

Currently, he declares, the housing issue is "water under the bridge – and we have to live with that."

Mr Lansdown said that knowing what awaited him as he returned from Africa to Bristol left him in two minds – pleased with the main decision but frustrated at those barriers being put in the way.

He wanted answers to some crucial questions: Do people want this scheme? Does Bristol City Council want a stadium in Bristol which they can call a regional stadium, one which would be "an iconic landmark for the city and bring benefits for the city"?

He believes the 2018 World Cup potential is a perfect illustration of those benefits.

In a bid to resolve those issues Mr Lansdown has since met with the city's top councillors, those who form the Liberal Democrat administration's cabinet.

"The meetings were to find out where everyone was, to clear the air and to see whether everyone else is keen to make this happen, subsequent to meeting all the obligations and requirements, and to get us all working on a proper timetable towards achieving this," he added.

"I now believe the council is behind this. That they would like it to happen.

"I am very happy with that situation, much happier than when I first came back. I believe there's now potential to see this through.

"There is a lot of work to be done but we can get that done."

Redevelopment of the club's current stadium Ashton Gate is crucial to the scheme.

However, Mr Lansdown doesn't expect a decision on the plan to build a new Sainsbury's supermarket there until summer next year – and insists this is not too late, whilst reiterating his view it is essential a clear timetable is laid out.

So far as the football club's new stadium is concerned, he says the plan is still on target but admits it runs the risk of "getting more complicated as time goes on", with any major delays likely to push the plans back from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.

Mr Lansdown is hoping the Government does not decide to call in the scheme for appraisal, citing the fact the stadium was made a special case both by the council officers and committee.

"It should not be called in, as it's a major benefit for the city of Bristol, utilising a key area marked for regeneration – South Bristol," he added. "I appreciate the council cabinet has no influence over the planning process, which is independent in assessing every application, but it was important to me that I felt they wanted this project to happen for the benefit of Bristol.

"If not there was no point in continuing. I now believe they want to work with us to make it happen, so long as we cover all the procedures we need to."

Mr Lansdown revealed the initiative for the meeting came from him.

He continued: "The reality of it is that the main funding is coming from myself and I wanted to know whether this money was going to be used for the stadium – or I'd go off and spend it somewhere else."

The next big hurdle for the scheme comes when the stadium application is re-submitted with all the outstanding points raised at the earlier planning meeting addressed.

His hope is that this will be submitted in January and heard again by the committee within the same month so it can move forward.

There is also the consultation over plans for the Ashton Gate supermarket scheme. It is envisaged that this application, lodged by Sainsbury's, will go in by March/April next year.

A decision would then be anticipated in the summer.

Bristol City's chairman believes there is categoric evidence Sainsbury's needs more space in this part of town, adding that there was more trading going on at Sainsbury's Winterstoke Road supermarket – further along the road from Ashton Gate – than they currently had space for.

"There's a real need in the area," he said.

"It is also opening up an area of land for housing and other development for the area, so it is providing what the council wants.

"We should be hopeful because, as much as we can do, we've actually answered the criticism being levelled against us by the former Tesco application.

"We are also currently out to tender for the construction of the stadium and we'll be looking at bringing the finance package together."

He makes it clear he has been heartened by support for the football club scheme.

Citing the numbers who watched the webcam broadcast of the debate, he says: "This is something Bristol's been crying out for years for. There are a lot of people around the place who are well behind it.

"The people objecting are a small minority, but there is a big majority in favour of it.

"I will persevere until such time I can't get any further with it."