Bristol City stadium approved - all the reaction

Bristol City FC have won backing to build a new 30,000-seat stadium at Ashton Vale.

Councillors agreed by seven votes to two last night to give their support to the scheme at a meeting at the Council House that lasted nearly four-and-a-half hours and was watched by about 200 people.

But there is a sticking point over one major aspect of the £100-million project.

Councillors would not back the building of 116 homes on a green belt site called Southlands near the proposed new stadium.

Afterwards, the club's chief executive Colin Sexstone said: "We are obviously very pleased.

"The fundamental issue for us was to establish that a new stadium can be built on this green belt site.

"We are disappointed that we didn't win backing for housing on the Southlands site but we shall have to go back and look at that again."

Bristol City manager Gary Johnson said the decision was a fantastic first step for the club.

Mr Johnson thanked the club's supporters who had come to the meeting to offer their backing.

He said: "It is as much for them as it was for everyone else, and they deserve it.

"There are a few little things that we have to iron out, but we are on the road to this new stadium now."

Steve Micklewright, director of the Avon Wildlife Trust, which had objected to the plan, said he regarded the result as a draw.

He said: "There is an opportunity here. They could get their stadium, and the councillors are worried about lots of things and have said the green belt and wildlife are really important as well.

"It is up to the stadium to come to people like the Avon Wildlife Trust to talk about how we can preserve the ecology and the wildlife and minimise the possible impact on the environment.

"They have got to make the best possible result for the wildlife and the people of Ashton Vale.

"Both the stadium and environmental lobbies didn't get exactly what they wanted, but we are going to have to talk to each other to work it through."

Marie Day, the only female member on the board of the club's supporters' trust, said: "Though I am behind the stadium plans, I can understand where the protesters are coming from about the green belt, and I am hopeful these issues can now be resolved."

Councillors were told that their decision was not binding.

A further report will have to come back in a few months' time with details of the scheme and, if approval is given at that stage, then the scheme will be put before the Secretary of State for a final decision.

Zoe Willcox, the council's head of planning, pointed out that the crucial issue was the proposed stadium's siting on green belt land.

She said there had to be "very special circumstances" which clearly outweighed any harm to the green belt.

She said only if this test could be met could the stadium scheme be given support. She said this test had been met in terms of the stadium but not with regard to the Southlands housing site.

Planning officer Richard Matthews said there were very special circumstances in relation to the stadium because of the poor condition of the existing ground and the lack of an alternative site.

He said the club argued that outdated Ashton Gate could only accommodate 19,000 fans, which did not make the ground viable if it was to achieve its aspirations of competing in the Premier League.

He said the club had examined 23 possible sites in the Bristol conurbation which had been whittled down to a shortlist of four.

These included a site at Hicks Gate near the Avon Ring Road, Hengrove Park, the existing ground, and Ashton Vale.

Mr Matthews said they were happy plans for a hotel and retail outlets near the stadium's new entrance next to the Long Ashton park and ride should be allowed.

But the Southlands housing site did not meet the test, partly because it is more isolated and therefore compromised the "openness" of the greenbelt.

He said the land did not have to be "rolling countryside" in order to be regarded as green belt and therefore the quality of the land was not in question.

He said the Southlands site also compromised the diversity of wildlife in the area and therefore failed the test of outweighing harm to the green belt.

The club also wants to develop the former Moorelands allotment site with 137 homes.

Mr Matthews said they supported this part of the plan because the site was not in the green belt and helped to meet the city's targets for new homes.

Councillors were told it was the club's case that some aspects of the scheme were crucial in order to fund the stadium because it was not viable on its own.

They were told the club believed the shortfall was originally £50m but they amended this figure to £30m after the council commissioned its own study on the figures which suggested that the project nearly broke even.

This meant that, on the council's figures, if the Southlands site is not allowed to go ahead then there would be a shortfall of about £5.5m.

The viability of the scheme also depended on some waiving of 106 planning agreements which released the club from some legal obligations such as providing homes for low-income families.

Councillors were told that traffic issues had been addressed although there were still negotiations over pedestrian access to the site which will probably include a footbridge over the railway line.

Three junctions will suffer congestion when the stadium is in use. These include the junction at the main entrance, the turning right at the junction near the Dovecote pub, and the slip road on to the A370.

The new stadium will include car parking for about 1,000 cars and fans will be encouraged to take friends with them to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

There will also be additional parking in South Liberty Lane, a residents' parking scheme in Ashton Vale and Long Ashton and extra buses.

Labour councillor John Bees said he believed the test had been met that there was no alternative site and therefore a new stadium at Ashton Vale should be allowed.

But he said there was no point in debating the finer details of the scheme unless other councillors agreed on this fundamental point. This led to a discussion for nearly an hour over whether the use of this green belt site should be permitted.

Eventually, there was a majority of councillors in favour which led to further debate on transport issues and other matters.

Mr Bees said he agreed with planning officers that the Southlands site should not be given support.

He put forward a motion to approve the recommendation which backed the stadium but omitted any decision on Southlands.

This was seconded by Tory councillor Mark Weston on the condition that officers carried out further work on transport issues.

● Councillors agreed they were minded to approve the stadium plan by seven votes to two.

Those in favour were chairman Lesley Alexander (Con, Frome Vale); Royston Griffey (Lab, Hartcliffe); Jacqueline Bowles (Lib Dem, Southmead); Mark Weston (Con, Henbury); Mary Sykes (Lib Dem, Hengrove); John Bees (Lab, Kings- weston); Cheryl Ann (Lib Dem, Horfield).

The two councillors who voted against were Liberal Democrat councillors Simon Rayner (Kings- weston) and Fi Hance (Redland).