What next for Ashton Gate?

So now the Sainsbury’s planning proposal has been turned down what happens next?

Well if we are to believe the rhetoric coming out of Bristol City last year, then no new superstore means no new stadium. So that’s it then? We all pack up and go back to how things were?

Of course there could be an appeal against the decision but there is no guarantee the outcome will change. They could revise down the size of the new site, but then you start to ask why Sainsburys would want to move. Or City’s Chairman could find another buyer for the site and raise the shortfall in funds for the stadium elsewhere.

Let’s not forget $teve Lansdown, who upped sticks earlier in the year and moved to the Channel Islands to avoid paying tax, has amassed a personal fortune of £452 million. He knows how to cut a deal to bring in some cash. So perhaps, just perhaps there could still be a happy ending. Ashton Gate gets redeveloped bringing much needed affordable housing and small business units that would complement the community. A new stadium gets built and England win the bid for 2018 World Cup.

Although a blow has been dealt to the supermarket proposal this isn’t the end of the story. We’ll have to wait for a few more days to see what action City and Sainsburys take next.

At Simply Southville we are proud of our local community and the green credentials of the city we live in. The Sainsburys' proposal doesn't fit, it's not right and this website will continue to oppose it.

Newsflash - Councillors refuse application for Ashton Gate superstore

Well I never! At the Council House tonight councillors on the South & East Planning Committee have rejected Sainsbury's proposals for a massive supermarket on the current site of Bristol City's ground at Ashton Gate. Simply Southville understands it was rejected by four votes to two, with two abstentions.

Well done to the people in Southville, Ashton and Bedminster who have campaigned to stop this unnecessary development. Let's hope Bristol City can find an alternative use for the site which is more suitable, so it can fund its plans for a new stadium.

More to follow tomorrow...