Ashton Vale probably won't happen, and it looks like we're resigned to renovating Ashton Gate. However, if you were put in charge of finding a new home for Bristol City, what would you build and where would you put it? I'd follow in Rover's footsteps and move the stadium out of Bristol, into Keynsham. I'd build a 35,000-40,000 seater stadium with room for capacity, and push towards the building of a new out-of-town business and community area surrounding the stadium to try and absorb the job losses in the area. Finally, I'd build the stadium to double as an arena. Everyone is happy. Ashton Vale gets its wasteland, the residents of Bristol get a fairly local arena, we get a stadium, Keynsham gets a ton of jobs in the area, and its completion serves as a permanent reminder to Bristol City Council and the mayor of the impossibilities of building anything worthwhile in Bristol. To rub salt on the wounds, Hargreaves Lansdown could move to nearby the stadium.
I'd buy up Long Ashton and stick it there wouldn't that upset the Nimby's cos I would leave their houses in the middle of the building complex
To be serious It's a long time since I lived in Bristol What would be the chances of getting planning permission to build somewhere on East Dundry Road as I remember it was farmland but not very good farmland. Or how big is the old cadbury site or has that been redeveloped?
Hengrove we did consider it back in the scott davidson days but i think the council didn't want to build on the field since then there has been numerous building projects there and still there is a huge wasteland just behind the cinema which should be fine for a 30000 capacity stadium with room to spare I would not want to move out of Bristol, the city is ours
If I remember rightly a small door to door poll was done of the local residents (of which I was one at the time! -- I wasn't asked) and I can remember there also being issues about some really rare newt colony on that land.. (not joking!) they gave up in the end.. Keynsham would work for me, I live there, a great boost for the local high street, plenty of pubs and a new shopping mall under construction. it could work but the Hicks gate roundabout is always a nightmare during any sort of rush hour so maybe not from a transportation point of view.
Keynsham or the site of the now demolished Rolls Royce "Shadow Factory" on Gypsy Patch Lane, Patchway. Railway to both sites; Keynsham and Patchway A4174 ring road to M32/M4 from Keynsham and M4/M5 a mile from Patchway
I like the Keynsham site but Patchway is just a mile up the road from the UWE dust bowl, too close....
Commenting on the Keynsham site being too close to the UWE site makes me think of other cities that have 2 football ground close by each other. The 2 that immediately come to mind are Liverpool and Nottingham but are there any others? Surely there must be something a bit closer to our historical roots that won't get up the noses of any neighbour that has some kind of animal. Not being close to the heart of the matter I take a look on Google Earth to see large vacant areas in the neighbourhood that would fit the bill. How about the park across the road next to the derelict pub? It looks perfect to me and, unlike the nimby area down the road, the view from outer space isn't totally blocked out by dogs and their piles of poop, or am I mistaken when they are really nimbies dressed as dogs?
How many times did any of you go to work and on the way home there was a new Blockbuster store on the corner and you ask yourself how in the hell did that get there? Take a leaf out of his book and do it during the cover of darkness and let the fallout land where it may.
Mike I think the reference was to Patchway being so close to the UWE; only just over a mile. Another two/three close are WBA, Villa, Blues
