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.

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.