Bristol City Council revealed that the plans to build a new 12,000-capacity concert arena in Bristol have been scrapped due to fears over rising costs and the huge sums of the money that would need to be borrowed in order to build the arena on Temple Island. With the Arena
Originally having deferred the decision on a £95m entertainment centre development plan, Bristol City Council has recently decided to reassess the plans, cited to have originally raised concerns over traffic impacts of the Bristol Arena. Attempting to overcome the concerns, efforts have been made in preparation of this moment, and
Bristol City Council revealed that the plans to build a new 12,000-capacity concert arena in Bristol have been scrapped due to fears over rising costs and the huge sums of the money that would need to be borrowed in order to build the arena on Temple Island. With the Arena plans now being shelved, the council has started exploring options for delivering a mixed-use development on the Temple Island site, which would include a bespoke conference centre and a four or five star hotel, commercial spaces with supporting retail and residential homes for city centre living, and affordable homes on the site next to Bristol Temple Meads. “It is the council’s duty to seek the best possible value for public money and the greatest economic benefit for Bristol and this has been central to the decision. We cannot ignore the evidence which shows that a mixed use scheme on Temple Island would bring an extra £500 million in economic benefit to our city and create three times the number of jobs for the people of Bristol,” said Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol. “We are committed to developing and sustaining a thriving city centre and the emerging options for the alternative scheme offer the lasting economic and social benefit we desperately need in Bristol. We now have the opportunity to deliver a development that raises the bar in terms of quality, sustainability and economic impact,” he continued. In 2016, Bouygues UK was tasked to build the project but failed to agree on terms with the local authority and walked away as costs rose to £90 million from the £80 million sum first agreed. A pre-construction services deal was then handed to Buckingham Group Contracting. However, the plans could not be delivered despite an increased budget of £123.5 million. In November last year, KPMG was commissioned to review the project and by January 2018, spending had topped £10 million including KPMG’s fees. Currently, work is underway to explore the alternative mixed use scheme with potential partners, Legal & General.
Originally having deferred the decision on a £95m entertainment centre development plan, Bristol City Council has recently decided to reassess the plans, cited to have originally raised concerns over traffic impacts of the Bristol Arena. Attempting to overcome the concerns, efforts have been made in preparation of this moment, and as such, is at a point worthy of being reviewed and reassessed. It is expected that discussions will ensue next month, with two applications presented for the talks; the two documents looking at the bigger picture of the development of Arena Island, with the other providing a much more localised look into the development of the arena structure itself. To overcome some of the original traffic issues feared, a report to highlight progress on the transport plans is also to be provided alongside the aforementioned applications. Whether or not the plans are enough to set aside the previous concerns is presently unknown, with some referring to it as a “vanity project” of architect and directly elected mayor, George Ferguson. £7.75m has been set aside for transportation-relative plans associated with the project, displaying a commitment to ensuring that traffic and transportation systems are in place from the opening of the venue, as well as that of rising to the challenges laid out by the original deferral and comments. For the project itself, Bouygues UK sits as the preferred bidder, however is unable to make any real progress until councillors agree on backing the project. Referring to the project as one which is of great import to the region itself, Mr Ferguson made comment, saying: “I hope that this new report, along with conditions that will be attached to the application, will give them the confidence they require to approve the plans.” Only time will tell if this project will make it through this time and we will report further as and when we find out of any further progress.
