Bristol World Cup Bid Signed By Council Leaders

Bristol’s world cup host city bid has been signed by the city’s council leaders, before submission to the FA tomorrow.

The Council’s Lib Dem leader Barbara Janke and Labour leader Helen Holland officially signed the document on Wednesday lunchtime. Tory leader Richard Eddy was unable to attend, but sent a message of support for the bid.

It will be officially presented to FA bosses during a ceremony at Wembley on Thursday.

Barbara Janke said the bid was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for Bristol and would bring “confidence, investment and income” into the city.

But she admitted there were financial risks, with hosting games in the tournament estimated to cost at least £17m.

She said: “There are clearly significant risks, with big sums of money at stake. It is clearly our intention that council tax payers are not going to have to carry the cost of this.

“We are starting from now to look at how we can raise the necessary funds with businesses, partners and other interested parties so that in nine years time we can fully finance the world cup matches.”

She also confirmed that Portsmouth’s decision to withdraw its hosting bid would make no difference to Bristol.

Portsmouth councillors last night pulled out of the process, with Conservative leader Steve Wemyss saying: ” I would love the World Cup to come to Portsmouth, but not at any cost.

“We are deceiving the council taxpayers if we think we can afford this. Let’s say no rather than have to cut other services to pay for this. We have to be realistic.”

Barbara Janke said: “I think Portsmouth is in a different position from Bristol. The financial pressures on them are bigger than we have here.

“There are also issues about the football club and the stadium, as I understand it. I still think there is a lot of confidence amongst the cities. There are still 15 others involved.

“When I spoke to colleagues at the Core Cities conference a few weeks ago, everybody still seemed very keen and ambitious. They want to take this forward for their own cities and put their cities on the world stage, which is what we want to do in Bristol.”

Barbara Janke also gave more details on how Bristol would finance its bid, without asking council tax payers for the full sum.

She said: “We have opportunities with the business rates, but we will have to take a ballot on that. We are also hoping the government might make lottery money available.

“We have been told that we can raise the business rates locally, so we will have to have a ballot on that. The difficult thing is that the city council does not keep the business rate. It’s kept by central government and reallocated on a per capita basis.

“If we were able to keep the business rate, we would be in a very strong position to finance events like this, but sadly that’s not the case at the moment.”

Audio: Martin Jones interviews Barbara Janke

Bristol Bid Boss: FIFA Contract Is “Non-Negotiable”

Bristol’s World Cup bid boss has insisted local businesses will reap the benefits of hosting the tournament in the city.

Stephen Wray was responding to concerns that the contract Bristol must sign with FIFA contains “draconian” clauses which could leave council tax payers and local businesses footing enormous bills.

City councillors last night rubber-stamped Bristol’s world cup bid, and will formally submit it to FIFA at a Wembley ceremony tomorrow.

The city is committed to spending at least £17m if chosen to host the tournament. According to Mr Wray, this includes the cost of upgrading Bristol City’s new stadium at Ashton Vale to FIFA standards.

However, last night’s meeting saw disagreements between politicians and business leaders over who should foot the bill for the tournament.

But a report submitted to councillors by accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers claims the city will see that money repaid many times over, and that hosting the tournament should be worth £250m to Bristol.

They estimate £150m will be spent in local firms, with a further £100m brought into the city through construction jobs.

Nonetheless, concerns have been expressed over the terms of the deal Bristol, and the other host cities, would be required to make with FIFA.

One clause in the contract says Bristol would get no compensation if matches were cancelled, even if FIFA were shown to be at fault.

Another will require the city to introduce by-laws preventing local businesses “ambush marketing” around the stadium, reserving it for official sponsors only.

Yet the man in charge of Bristol’s bid dismisses these concerns. Bristol bid director Stephen Wray told #SITE_NAME#: “The bottom line is that unless a city is prepared to sign these agreements, you cannot hope to host the world cup. It’s an absolute non-negotiable factor.

“What we have been doing is talking to the government, the DCMS and the LGA and we have got sufficient guarantees that the city’s interests will be protected.”

And he remains adamant local firms would reap massive rewards from games being held in Bristol. He said: “It will be local businesses. That is the money [£150m] that will accrue to the restaurants, bars, hotels, commercial centres, shops and visitor attractions.

“That is the general spending that will take place around a world cup event when you have visitors based in a city over that period of time.”

Bristol City In Arena ‘Land Swap’ Talks

A new arena for Bristol has moved a step closer, as it has emerged that Bristol City FC is in talks aimed at building one alongside its new stadium at Ashton Vale.

Several sources have confirmed to Jones The News that companies involved in the new stadium deal are discussing a ‘land swap’ with the South West Regional Development Agency in order to get an arena built next to the new stadium.

The talks are still at an early stage, but they have already been condemned by Tobacco Factory architect George Ferguson, who calls them “bonkers”.

The South West RDA – responsible for giving money to business projects in the region – still owns about 9 acres of disused land near Temple Meads station. The site had been earmarked for an arena until the plans were scrapped in 2007.

The RDA is now in discussion to swap this land for 6 acres alongside the planned Ashton Vale stadium, owned by the group of companies involved in building the club’s new stadium.

City had wanted to build a housing estate known as ‘Southlands’ on the site, but was denied permission by the council last month, because the land is green belt.

If the swap goes through, Bristol City would then develop the Temple Meads site, possibly for housing, while the RDA builds an arena at Southlands.

The club has previously said it would need to consider a variety of options to adress what it claimed would be a £10m shortfall to its stadium project, following the rejection of Southlands.

Despite last week promising not to build on Bristol’s green belt land, the city’s ruling Lib Dem cabinet say they may allow “exceptional” applications. It is believed an arena would fall into this category.

However, both the RDA and Bristol City FC have refused to comment on the land swap talks.

An RDA spokeswoman said: “Any discussions are just speculation and we will not comment on speculation.” A Bristol City Football Club spokesman said the club would not comment at this stage.

But the plans have been condemned by Tobacco Factory architect George Ferguson. He said: “The RDA have made huge mistakes in the past and this will be another one. An arena on this site is totally inexcusable and it will fail.”

Mr Ferguson has his own proposals for an arena on the Temple Meads site.

But a senior member of the ruling Lib Dem cabinet told Jones The News: “We want to see an arena and our preference is for one which will happen.

“The plan to build an arena at Temple Meads won’t happen. There is no value in fighting old battles all over again.”

Audio: George Ferguson speaks to Jones The News

Bristol research does not support climate change denial

Just wanted to put this out there. I’ve been pretty disappointed, though not entirely surprised, by some of the coverage the Wolfgang Knorr research has received.

Basically, Bristol University scientist Knorr has discovered that the proportion of CO2 being absorbed by natural ’sinks’ (i.e. the oceans and forests) has stayed roughly the same, despite the amount of carbon being emitted shooting up.

The implication is that we have more time to address climate change than some believe because more carbon has been absorbed than previously thought.

But Dr Knorr is adamant that we must still adress climate change, and favours mandatory caps on emissions. I ask him if that’s what we need to do and he says, “There is no other way”.

But I was aware this story would generate a lot of coverage suggesting the research supports climate change denial, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing. I think when the nationals get hold of this (probably tomorrow) it’ll go into overdrive.

So here is an interview in which I ask Dr Knorr specifically whether his research backs up climate sceptics. (He says no, if you can’t listen to it)

Rookie Councillors To Make “D-Day” Stadium Decision

It has emerged that four of the nine councillors who will decide whether Bristol City can build its new stadium at Ashton Vale have been in office less than six months.

Rookie Liberal Democrats Simon Rayner, Cheryl Ann, Fi Hance and Jacqui Bowles were all elected this June, in the election which propelled the Lib Dems to outright power in Bristol for the first time.

They will all be responsible for making what has been described as the biggest decision Bristol City Council has made in living memory.

Bristol City manager Gary Johnson has described it as “D-Day” for his club, and the club’s Chief Executive Colin Sexstone claims it is a “massive day not just for Bristol City but for the region.”

The decision whether or not to grant the club planning permission for its new stadium will be taken at Bristol’s Council House on College Green in a meeting beginning at 6pm Wednesday evening.

The committee will also rule on two housing developments planned alongside the stadium, which Bristol City says are vital to fund the new ground.

An official council report has already recommended the stadium be approved, but one of the two housing estates be rejected. Despite this, committee members are free to vote however they like.

Lib Dem sources deny the councillors are too inexperienced to deal with a decision of this size.

One senior Lib Dem told #SITE_NAME# they had every confidence in the junior councillors as Simon Rayner is an architect by trade, and Fi Hance has worked as an assistant to Bristol West MP Stephen Williams. All the councillors on the committee have been given training in how to make the decision, as the process is “quasi-legal”.

However, another Lib Dem source expressed concern as to whether the newcomers would be able to cope with the pressure in the council chamber. The atmosphere could be volatile, and the council is believed to have increased security ahead of the meeting.

Hundreds of campaigners on both sides of the argument, including Gary Johnson and several City players, are expected to be there to make their views felt.

Two Labour councillors, Sean Beynon and Colin Smith, will not attend as they have been barred from sitting on the committee. Both are season ticket holders at Bristol City. They have been replaced by former Lord Mayor Royston Griffey and Labour veteran John Bees, who has served as a councillor for 17 years. Tories Mark Weston and Lesley Alexander, plus Lib Dem Mary Sykes make up the nine-strong panel.

Members of the committee are banned from expressing their views before the meeting. However, speaking in July, the council’s deputy leader Simon Cook made his personal view clear.

He said: “You have to balance these things against community benefit. We will have a regional sports stadium. It will have a 1000 capacity conference centre in it. There is a possibility of other things going on the site.

“In terms of benefit for the city, we feel that can justify this small section coming out of green belt.”

However, he added that the members of the committee would make a decision independently, and Lib Dem sources have confirmed the stadium decision will not be ‘whipped’, i.e. councillors will not be required to vote on party lines.

Simon Cook On Stadium Decision

Interesting – going back through my old audio, preparing a piece for tomorrow, and I found this from Simon Cook, speaking in July.

No doubt about his personal view, though he does go on to say the planning committee, (five out of nine of whom are Lib Dems) will make their decision completely independently, and solely on planning grounds.

Also, a senior Lib Dem told me today there were concerns whether the four rookie councillors would cope with what’s expected to be a very volatile atmosphere at the council house.

City “Could Get Tax Cash” For New Stadium

Bristol City could get taxpayers’ money to fund its new stadium at Ashton Vale.

The South West Regional Development Agency has confirmed it is in talks with the club about offering funding for the club’s new ground.

The Agency is responsible for distributing government money to projects it believes will benefit the region’s economy.

But Bristol City say any money that might come from the taxpayer would need to be in addition to selling Ashton Gate to Sainsbury’s, not instead of it.

Ian Knight, area director for the South West RDA, exclusively told Jones The News: “”We have met with Bristol City Football Club to discuss how they might be able to help take forward the proposed stadium expansion but those discussions are at a very early stage.”

He added: “It is too early to say if RDA funding would be available for this project.”

But Bristol City’s Chief Executive Colin Sexstone dismissed the suggestion that public funding could mean the club did not have to sell Ashton Gate off as a supermarket.

He said: “It would make no difference to the application for Ashton Gate. We have been in discussions with the RDA, as you would expect with a stadium of this size.

“This sort of discussion is normal in a project like this. There is a fair bit of land remediation that needs to be done. We would be looking to the RDA to help us with that.

“That’s especially true because it will create jobs and bring back an area of the city that, at the moment, can’t be used for employment.

“We’re also looking for them to help us with the infrastructure, and how people get to the site. That might be grants or might be loans. We are in discussion with them, but this issue is not central. We still need to raise the maximum we can from Ashton Gate.”

Sexstone is also adamant that any money from the RDA could not replace the money the club would get from a food store.

He said: “It certainly could not. If someone comes in and gives us the same money as we would get from a food store, they could do what they like with this site.

“They could put housing or sports centres or whatever they like on the site if they match what we would get from a food store. But there is not that sort of public money available at the moment.”

The RDA has also revealed it is committed to providing £20,000 to boost Bristol’s World Cup bid, and would provide the same sum to Plymouth, which is competing with Bristol.

The RDA’s South West Director Ian Knight said: “There are significant economic benefits of being a host city for the 2018 World Cup so we are keen to find out more about the strengths of Bristol’s bid and how it might be presented.

“The city will need to address issues such as transport infrastructure, the local environment, sustainability issues and stadium facilities.

Audio: City Chief Executive Colin Sexstone speaks to Jones The News

TESNO: Supermarket Giant Pulls Out Of Ashton Gate Deal

There will be no Tesco superstore on the site of Bristol City’s Ashton Gate stadium.

The supermarket giant has confirmed it has pulled out of a proposed deal with the club. The news follows newspaper reports at the weekend the club was now in talks with Sainsbury’s.

In a statement, Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager Juliette Bishop told Jones The News: “We are always on the look out for possible sites all over the country and the possibility of a new Tesco store at Ashton Gate was one such site.

“We were interested in the Club’s proposals should they get outline planning consent for a food store next month. Inevitably, not all of these projects move ahead to implementation.

“Having considered the Ashton Gate project at length, Tesco has withdrawn its participation from the scheme.”

“We wish the Club well in its ongoing efforts to deliver a new stadium and good luck to Bristol with its bid to be a 2018 World Cup Host City.”

Despite Tesco’s withdrawal, the club is still believed to be in talks with Sainsbury’s, though has refused to comment while negotiations are still taking place.

Bristol City Chief Executive Colin Sexstone said today: “There is no comment I can make. But we are continuing to push forward with a food store application for this site.

“At the moment that is the only way we can find to raise the sort of money we need to build a stadium. If we can’t raise that money, the whole project becomes unviable.”

Tom Griffin, a spokesman for anti-Tesco campaign group BERATE, said: “We just have to wait and see what will be applied for.

“Any new application could conceivably be a benefit but equally it could be as bad as having two individual stores, depending on the scale of the development.

“At this moment, we can’t comment on how we feel about it until we know what the plans will be.”

Churches Claim Tesco Plan Is Betrayal Of Bedminster

Church leaders in Bedminster claim Bristol City FC is betraying its community and its “only real interest is money” in selling Ashton Gate to Tesco.

They claim the plan could lead to economic and community decline in the area.

Bedminster Parochial Church Council, which is the representative body of the Church of England in the area, has written to the city council to formally object to the plan.

In a strongly worded letter, it says “the reputed £20m which Tesco is offering for the site could be seen as equating to 30 pieces of silver”. In the Bible, Judas Iscariot was paid thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus to the Romans.

Ashton Gate Stadium Plan

As well as the impact on the community, the church leaders object to the proposal on the grounds that the area already has enough shops, and that the plan would create more traffic noise and pollution.

They also claim it is “irresponsible” of the club to link the plan for a Tesco to its ambitions for a new stadium.

The letter says: “It would be a very serious business if Bedminster suffered an economic and community decline, because it was put forward that the superstore at Ashton Gate is the only way in which a new stadium could be built.

“While we bear no ill will to Bristol City Football Club, and indeed many members of our parish are Bristol City supporters, we believe that the club is not displaying a proper sense of responsibility to the community which has hosted it for many years.

“We ask that the Council will not grant permission for a superstore to be built at Ashton Gate.”

Bristol City FC claims it cannot fund its proposed new stadium at Ashton Vale without selling Ashton Gate to Tesco. It also denies the plan would harm local shops and says it would instead bring hundreds of new jobs to the area.

The club has recently stepped up its campaign for the council to allow the development, and now displays posters and banners inside and outside Ashton Gate that say “No Food Store = No New Stadium”.

Bristol City FC’s Chief Executive Colin Sexstone recently told Jones The News: “We are building a stadium for Bristol City and the region.

“The only asset that we have is Ashton Gate. It would appear that there is no public money for this, so it must be funded by commerciality.

“The difference between using this for food retail and using it as a mixed use site is as much as a net £15m. If someone else can suggest how we can make up that difference, we’re all ears. But no-one has been forthcoming as yet.”

Bristol City Council will consider the planning application for the Tesco on November 5th.

Audio: Martin Jones interviews Alan Baker from Bedminster Parochial Church Council

Report Objects to “Inappropriate” Stadium Plan

A report by North Somerset council has criticised Bristol City’s plan for a new stadium at Ashton Vale as “inappropriate” to be built on the green belt.

The report attacks the proposed stadium’s appearance as “bland and imbalanced”. It also claims not enough has been done to make the site accessible for pedestrians, and calls for better car parking arrangements.

It recommends that councillors formally oppose the plans when they meet to consider the report on Thursday.

The report is a setback for the club’s ambitions but is a long way from being the final word.

The report acknowledges that the main decision should lie with Bristol City Council because most of the stadium’s impact, positive and negative, will be on the city itself.

Only 10% of the land earmarked for development is in North Somerset; the rest is within the city of Bristol.

But the report warns the stadium should only be approved if Bristol City Council is satisfied there are “very special circumstances” for granting permission.

Bristol City FC has already argued that there are very special circumstances which mean permission should be granted.

It says it has tried for the last ten years to find an alternative site, looking at around 30 different locations, but that none can be found.

Club bosses also cite the stadium’s economic benefits, creating 80 jobs during construction and 400 once complete. They say it could also act as a catalyst for the regeneration of south Bristol, and act as a potential world cup host venue.

Bristol City Council will consider the planning application on November 5th.

As previously reported on Jones The News, if Bristol is “minded to approve” the plans, it will submit them to the government for rubber-stamping.

Link: the North Somerset council report