Posted by 
Stadium site: The area marked with a red boundary is where Bristol City FC's new stadium is due to be built at Ashton Vale
Campaigners fighting plans for a new stadium for Bristol City FC in Ashton Vale have reacted angrily to the news that wildlife is to be moved from the site in preparation for building work – despite planning approval having not yet been granted for the work.
In a letter sent from a consultant working for Trimedia – a public relations company with offices in Bristol’s Queen Square – to residents near the new stadium site, and seen by Bristol24-7 today, work has already begun at the site to trap reptiles and move them to a new location.
A fence and a number of reptile-attracting mats have been placed on the site as part of the work which will take “a number of months” to complete.
In a statement to Bristol24-7, Ashton Gate Ltd said the work was necessary preparation for a successful outcome of the planning application.
“The programme focusing on these reptiles is underway at present as this is the most appropriate time to relocate such species sensitively, in line with likely programme of development should the planning application be successful.
“Relocating these reptiles now will mean they have time to adjust to their new surroundings before entering their period of dormancy over the colder months. Should the application be unsuccessful, the fence will be removed and similar reptiles will be free to repopulate the site.”
But a spokesman for the campaign group Ashton Vale Heritage said the announcement was simply the latest part of a “David and Goliath battle” they have fought for the last nine months.
“We’re not sure what’s going with this. It pre-empts a decision that is not going to be made until later this year,” said Trish Young of Ashton Vale Heritage.
The campaign group has spent the last nine months fighting plans for the new stadium and additional proposals to build thousands of new homes on green belt land in the same area – as part of the South West Regional Spatial Strategy. Up to 10,000 homes have been planned for Ashton Vale fields and the surrounding area up the Dundry slopes, a development that Ms Young says is “unthinkable”.
“Those fields are like our village green and the last bit of green belt left in the area. We know it’s an important area of scientific interest, and is a habitat for rare birds and species like otters and wild deer.
“We feel no-one in Ashton Vale has had a say, even though we have handed in a petition of 800 names to Bristol City Council opposing the plans.”
Opposition to the stadium plans gathered strength last week when the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT) published its formal response to the proposal.
In its response, AWT chief executive Steve Grainger said with reference to the green belt issue: “The greenbelt is protected against inappropriate development, and both the Bristol City Council and North Somerset local plans state that new development will not be permitted on the greenbelt except in very special circumstances. It is questionable whether a football stadium can be considered special circumstances.”
The report went on to outline the negative impacts on wildlife in the area and concluded that: “There will undoubtedly be extensive loss of biodiversity along with damage to several UK BAP/Section 41 habitats and species if this development goes ahead, on top of all the other community concerns.
“Given all this it is unclear why it is considered a good site for development.”
Bristol City FC put their planning application into Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council on July 3. At the time, chairman Steve Lansdown said the new stadium would “bring substantial benefits for both the Club and the city as a whole, creating a world-class sports facility, strengthening the local economy and driving the ongoing regeneration of south Bristol”.
A new stadium is seen as an essential element of Bristol’s attempt to be a host city for the 2018 football World Cup – as part of England’s overall bid.
Last month, Councillor Simon Cook told Bristol24-7 that the loss of green belt land for the new stadium was a price worth paying.
“The land (where the new stadium will be) is green belt but it is within the city boundary,” he said. “You have to try to balance the fact that you will be taking out a part of the green belt with achieving a regional sports centre and conference centre, and being at the heart of the World Cup bid.
“If you look at things in a narrow way, yes you will lose green belt land. But overall, the benefits are stupendous.”
A meeting of Bristol City Council’s south and east area development control committee next Wednesday will assess the transport and visual impacts on the area of the new stadium and make recommendations to North Somerset Council, who meet to discuss the project on September 3.
Bristol council planning officers are due to make their final report in early November, possibly at the special meeting of the development control committee meeting which is due to take place on the 4th.
Further reading
