Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter future in doubt over legal row

The new sporting quarter will sit next to Ashton Gate Stadium

A sporting development is in doubt due to a legal row between a waste company and council planners.

Work on Bristol Sport's Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter - a basketball arena, hotel and car park - was due to start in the summer.

It will be funded by building 510 homes but ETM Recycling has launched a judicial review over fears noise from its nearby plant will affect residents.

A Bristol Sport spokesperson said the delay was "incredibly frustrating".

"The whole sporting quarter and much-needed homes for Bristol now look like they will be significantly delayed, and even risk being abandoned, due to ETM's actions," they added.

The Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter will sit directly west of the existing Ashton Gate Stadium and will also include apartments, offices and shops.

The basketball arena will be the new home of the Bristol Flyers and have a capacity of 3,626

Bristol City Council granted planning permission for the project whilst at the same time approving 510 new homes as part of the linked Longmoor Village housing scheme.

Bristol Sport said it could not go ahead with a new sporting quarter unless it could also build the housing development nearby.

The site is on a meadow near Long Ashton park and ride which is popular with dog walkers and is a haven for wildlife.

ETM has launched a judicial review into the granting of planning permission claiming the future of their business located next to where the new homes would go is "under threat" because the dwellings would be affected by noise coming from its premises.

Both planning applications were approved by the council

Lawyers acting on ETM's behalf said: "We are challenging the council's decision to grant permission because of fears that the living standards of occupiers of the proposed new housing will be poor as a result of noise emissions the plant generates.

"We will be restricted in our operations in the future if it goes ahead.

"We would love to work with the developer to reach a mutually-agreeable solution that can see their development proceed."

But Bristol Sport said Bristol City Council had already confirmed that providing ETM stays within permitted noise levels, it would not be too noisy for anyone living in the proposed new homes.

"If the Longmoor project is blocked, it will materially and adversely affect the future of professional and community sport in Bristol and the ability to attract high-profile entertainment, sporting and corporate events to the city," a Bristol Sport spokesperson added.

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