Mayor says council will be on ball over Ashton Gate stadium.. please log in to view this image MAYOR George Ferguson has promised that Bristol City Football Club's plans for a £35 million makeover of Ashton Gate will be treated as a top priority. Mr Ferguson cannot influence the outcome but he can tell his planning officers to bring the matter as quickly as possible before councillors for a decision. Plans for the new-look Ashton Gate are to be submitted to the city council today Yesterday, the club formally submitted plans for the Ashton Gate revamp â and hopes a decision will be made in the autumn. Mr Ferguson told the Bristol Post: "I have asked the planning department to do everything they can to expedite this application as quickly as possible. "I do not underestimate the huge importance of this application and what it means to so many people." Plans have been revised following a consultation exercise a few weeks ago when people were invited to see them and put forward their views. The revisions include improvements to disabled facilities, public transport and parking for residents who live nearby. The plans also include rail seating which means some rugby fans will be able to watch matches standing up. Normally, a major planning application of this size can take several months before it comes before councillors for a decision. But the club hopes the application will be considered before a public inquiry starts in October over the future of Ashton Vale where the club still wants to build a £92 million stadium. The club has insisted that a revamp of the existing ground is seen as plan B, with their main aim still to build a new stadium. When the consultation exercise was held at Ashton Gate, the majority of people said they liked the plans but their preference was for a new stadium at Ashton Vale. The revamped Ashton Gate ground would see crowd capacity increase from 19,000 to 26,500. If all went according to plan, then the makeover would start next year and be completed in phases. The aim is to finish all the work in time for the start of the 2016-17 season. A Desso pitch, combining grass and artificial fibres, would be built to accommodate rugby matches as well as football. Bristol Sport, the management company which runs the football club, has declined to comment until the planning application has been validated. This is a formal exercise which does not take up more than a couple of working days to officially accept the documents. The public inquiry in October will consider whether part of Ashton Vale should be registered as a town green. The southern part of the 45-acre site has already been awarded town-green status, effectively ruling out any development in the future. But part of the northern area, including the former tip where the club would like to build the new stadium, is not registered as a town green. The dispute became a lengthy legal wrangle between the city council and campaigners which led to the inquiry being held. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Mayor-...Gate-stadium/story-19585712-detail/story.html
It has nothing to do with that monkey. It's a planning matter and he is clearly grabbing hold of some positive publicity Personally I hate the plans for Ashton Gate and leave us with a mediocre ground for decades.
The bloke has **** on city and the city of Bristol regards the new stadium and the jobs it would create for the area.
Just how did that muppet get elected I always thought the people of Bristol had more sense we did when I lived there at least.
He should never have been elected! When only 16% of the city vote surely it means the majority of us couldn't give a flying **** and don't want a mayor. What has he actually done to help us? The only thing of note I can think of is closing our city centre roads so all the twats theat live there can bring there sofa out in the street. ****ing embarrassing......... Listen to the majority not the minority! bit like our stadium situation
My thoughts exactly. I've tried to warm to the new Ashton Gate plans, and I've tried to warm to the new mayor, but both aren't good enough, and we could do better on both fronts.
The public inquiry in October will consider whether part of Ashton Vale should be registered as a town green. The southern part of the 45-acre site has already been awarded town-green status, effectively ruling out any development in the future. But part of the northern area, including the former tip where the club would like to build the new stadium, is not registered as a town green. The dispute became a lengthy legal wrangle between the city council and campaigners which led to the inquiry being held. And this is wrong the offer was made to have the southern section into a Village green the Nimbies said no they wanted the whole site so the offer was withdrawn now Steve Lansdown wants the whole site back under his and his partners control - His quote 'I offered to be a good neighbour but they didn't want me as a neighbour so now we intend to fight for the entire site no matter how long it takes', I hope these Nimbies have deep pockets because I doubt if the local councils will continue to give them handouts and they won't get legal aid for this sort of action.
Ah the party for the right to wear red trousers I'm not mixing him up with someone else he is the one behind the Club/Bar in Southville 'the Factory is it' isn't he?
I was one of the lazy twats that didn't vote for a mayor, I didn't think it was necessary, I thought waste of our money but I am a sad soul and if he really helps our club get a deserved new home then I will be a converted soul, if he is all gob and broken promises god help him at the next election...
I don't think he will do anything to help wiz. He wont really have a say in it if it gets a yes or no. Think he is just trying to gain new followers by making this public when at the end of the day I don't think he really cares.
Ashton Vale is and was a legislative matter. George Ferguson could be called Cary Grant, it makes no difference, it is outside the remit of Mayor. The legal challenge came from residents of BS3 and nearby Long Ashton.
As soon as this arsehole (and that's being polite) started his war on local shops in the area over Sainsburys plans to buy AG and build a new supermarket there instead of the one on Winterstoke Road I started boycotting the Tobacco Factory and I haven't been back since, and won't as long as he is alive. As a person he's a joke, as Mayor he's nothing but a twat. I didn't vote for him.
War on local shops! George Ferguson gets support in BS3 from local traders and he was pre Mayor an active participant in local community groups. He is still very visual in the area. The Tobacco Factory is often rammed with City fans. He may be a twat, most politicians are. My MP is a twat and also invisible year upon year. Ferguson at least has taken an interest in an issue that affects my sons football, and turned up in person to look at the site.
