Supermarket group Sainsbury’s has unveiled its latest redevelopment plans for Bristol’s Memorial Stadium – and admitted it has learnt lessons from the planning wrangle over its controversial Ashton Gate scheme.
But the plans have already come under fire from local campaigners, who claim the “callous” move would “divide communities and split friendships”.
Sainsbury’s plans at the Memorial Stadium – home to Bristol Rovers and Bristol Rugby – include a 50,000 sq ft store, up to five small retail units and a ‘home zone’ with 68 homes ranging from three-bedroom town houses to flats. The scheme would create around 350 jobs.
Bristol Rovers want to move to a new £40million, 20,000-seat stadium on UWE’s campus at Frenchay. Selling the Memorial Stadium, which the football club owns, to Sainsbury’s would fund this move.
Sainsbury’s latest plans are on display to the public at the Memorial Stadium today and tomorrow.
Sainsbury’s regional development executive Ben Littman said the group had looked closely at how its redevelopment plans for Ashton Gate were received. The scheme to build a superstore on Bristol City’s ground – so allowing the club to build its own stadium – was rejected by councillors amid a high-profile campaign by some local people and pressure groups who argued it would hit local traders and cause traffic problems.
The revised plans were approved by councillors although council planning officers had recommended refusal.
“We learned some lessons with the Ashton Gate scheme,” said Mr Littman. “The city council pushed us hard on sustainability issues but we hope for a more straightforward process with this scheme.”
While it admits that the store will generate traffic, Sainsbury’s argues that it will help ease congestion in the Horfield area as it would give local people an alternative to driving longer distances to existing supermarkets. It points out that public transport in the area is good with nearby Gloucester Road well served by buses.
The plans include a 450-space underground car park, extensive pedestrian and cycle links with surrounding roads, and a roundabout at the entry to the site from Filton Avenue.
The stadium’s Memorial Gates would be retained as part of a new Memorial Square which would continue the ground’s commitment to the memory of Bristol rugby players who have lost their lives in conflict.
If the plans are approved – and Rovers gets consent for their new stadium – work would start on the site in 2014.
But Green Party campaigners have vowed to fight the plans, saying the supermarket was not needed or wanted, and would “suck the life out of Gloucester Road”.
While supporting the plans for a new sports stadium at UWE, the party claimed the firm was using the city’s love of sport as a reason to build a new store.
Green Party spokesperson for Bishopston, Daniella Radice, said: “Supermarkets do not have a long term future, they require huge amounts of fossil fuels, unthinkable food-miles and low costs to farmers to survive. Their aim is for short-term profit rather than long term, affordable good food.
“We are categorically not against sport and welcome the move to build a new stadium near UWE.”
Ms Radice called on residents to object to the plans at the Memorial Stadium.
The football club has planning approval for its own redevelopment of the Memorial Stadium, which include a 18,500 seat stadium an 84-room hotel and 550 student flats. However, funding for this scheme would be harder to obtain than selling the site to Sainsbury’s and using the proceeds to build a stadium at UWE.
Mr Littman from Sainsbury’s added: “We would encourage everyone from the local community to come to the exhibition and discuss the proposal with us.
“Their ideas will help to ensure that the proposal evolves in such a way as to offer most benefit to the local area.
“Sainsbury’s team includes architects, planning consultants and highways experts. As well as listening to people we will also be there to respond to questions about the proposed development.”
The public exhibition is in the Bristol Room and is open until 2.30pm today and from 10am to 6pm tomorrow.
Build on the derelict spaces. Save the Green spaces.
Keep the Memorial as the Sport honouring the War Dead, not the Shopping honouring them.
Stop the Supermarkets. Stop their control of the supply of our food chain.
So from this can it be understood that Sainsbury's would radically alter their plans if they got lucky at Ashton Gate? Would they acknowledge the raft of empirical evidence that suggested that their second application was disastrous? And if not, why not?
Why is it we get a 100,000 sq ft monster stains buries at Ashton Gate and yet they only go for a paltry 50,000 at the Memorial? Ah- I remember, the council gave stains buries the extra 4 acres of public owned assets to make the monster happen.
Great clean up on city sports stadiums, master stroke from the multinationals, buy one
Get one free.
"We learnt our lessons"
I bet they did. So will the Council and the club. Lessons like:
1. Make sure the Council leader gives his full support to the project before any planning committee meeting;
2. Ensure the Lib Dems on the planning committee are removed about 2 days before the committee meet, and replaced by yes men, so they cannot be too influenced by rational debate or the views of the planners.
3. Make sure the club whips the fans into a frenzy of anti-Nimby feeling early on in the process, thus giving the impression that the scheme has overwhelming support.
4. Make sure anyone who is concerned by the prospect of 1000s of additional cars, more pollution, closure of surrounding shops is painted as anti-progress & preferably a latte drinking middle class elitist who is anti sport.
That should do it for now.
Good luck Daniella.
Completely ludicrous statement award goes to……Green Party spokesperson for Bishopston, Daniella Radice, said: “Supermarkets do not have a long term future"
Really! I think they do.
Well said Mike,the Party are all for the new stadium at UWE because it's not in their back yard I'm sure if it was they would find some green objections!
Mike – supermarkets don't have a long-term future if our planet is to have a long-term future. Globalised capitalism needs to be countered with localised economies of regional scale. Any huge supermarket is detrimental to our ability to combat climate change and build resilient communities.
Steve – it is nothing to do with NIMBYism. I like football, I like Bristol Rovers, I want them to have a decent stadium. I don't have any objections to the Memorial Stadium being sited where it is (it's been there a while!), but the club seems to need a new stadium. UWE seems to be the best option.
I'd prefer a supermarket there to a football stadium
Excellent idea. Sainsbury's is far enough from Gloucester Road not to make an impact on the small businesses. Need the new jobs!