VIDEO: Johnson and Sexstone react to approval for new Bristol City stadium

Bristol City's big wigs, manager Gary Johnson and chief exec Colin Sexstone both blew a sigh of relief when, after four and a half hours of debate, Bristol City Council approved the club's new stadium.

A momentus night for Bristol saw the Council's planning committee take the plunge, show their ambition and move the project to the next stage, although their decision was not without substantial concerns.

By a vote of seven to two, the committee stuck with officers recommendations and passed the Ashton Vale stadium, hotel and housing development on the Alderman Moores allotment site.

But they also followed the recommendation to reject the additional housing on the Southlands site, leaving at least a £5.5million shortfall in the stadium's proposed funding.

The club must now address issues raised in the recommendations on transport, access and the additional housing and submit a further, more detailed application to the committee within six months.

Here's what Sexstone and Johnson had to say on a significant night for the stadium project which saw potentially its biggest hurdle overcome - approval to build on green belt land: