Approval nears for Bristol Sporting Quarter

Plans for a major development at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate Stadium – which include a sports and convention centre, a hotel, a trio of apartment buildings and retail space – look set to advance next week. If backed, the proposals could create more than 1,000 jobs.The project is known as the Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter (AGSQ) and is earmarked for a site to the West of the Championship club’s ground.It was submitted in tandem with an outline proposal for up to 510 homes on land within the Green Belt, with the residential scheme considered to be “integral to the delivery of the AGSQ”, as the receipt from its sale to a developer will be used to part finance this mixed-use venture.AGSQ has a number of prominent elements, with the Sports and Convention Centre set to have a maximum capacity of 5,202 standing spectators and 3,626 seated.It will provide a new home for the Bristol Flyers basketball team, and will also act as a flexible space designed to hold conferences, exhibitions and other entertainment and cultural events.At roof level, it would incorporate formal recreation space including five-a-side football pitches, outdoor gym areas, changing rooms and an ancillary juice bar.The ten-storey hotel would comprise 232 rooms, with a trio of apartment blocks also proposed. These would reach 14, eight and storeys, comprising more than 120 units between them.Elsewhere, 43,820 sq ft of office space would be brought forward in a ten-storey building. It is anticipated that a proportion of the office space would be taken up by the relocation and expansion of the Bristol Sport and Ashton Gate Ltd offices, as well as four community foundations.Also proposed is retail space for concessions and a club shop for the Bristol Sports group – the commercial arm behind Bristol City FC, Bristol Bears Rugby Club, Bristol Flyers Basketball, Bristol City Women’s Football, Bristol Bears Women).Finally, a club museum, a 536-space multi-storey car park and public realm space are also lined up.In total, the development would comprise about 577,500 sq ft of floorspace.The proposal is also projected to create 370 full-time equivalent jobs on the site, and a further 118 in Bristol through indirect and induced expenditure with local suppliers.In addition, the construction phases have the potential to create a further 750 temporary construction roles per year, plus 270 jobs from indirect and induced spend per annum.The application is set to go before Bristol City Council’s Development Control Committee, with a report drawn up before the meeting on 5 October noting that it would “provide significant and multi-faceted benefits that attract very substantial weight in the overall planning balance that are considered to outweigh the limited harm caused”.