n YOUR MP
Arena process has failed in every regard, at a cost of millions
P
LANS for a major development at Temple Meads have been mooted for 20 years or more, long before my election as Bristol South MP. Countless incarnations have been raised, then discarded, falling foul of the many vagaries associated with such large-scale projects. In recent years, however, a broad body of support has developed around the arena, a proposal billed as more than a construction project. It would, we were told, create jobs both in the short and long term. Crucially, it would benefit the area of the city that often seems overlooked – South Bristol. It is for these reasons that I have been an “in principle” supporter of a Temple Meads arena for some time. For me, it has never been a simple, transactionary endeavour, nor one where cheapest equalled best. It represented
a meaningful investment in the fabric of Bristol South and the people of Bristol South – both sorely needed, and long overdue. It is deeply disheartening, therefore, to read the KPMG reports into the arena project published by Bristol city council. However you read them, the reports are very bad news for South Bristol. The main takeaway is as brutal as it is shortsighted – no arena and no investment for South Bristol. In fact, the only guarantee that residents have is years of uncertainty around the Temple Meads site. Where we needed vision, bold thinking and a willingness to invest boldly, we were instead presented with Management Speak of the worst order. Moreover, there was an
n LOCAL SERVICES
AERIALS
KARIN SMYTH
unsettling reliance on intelligence from a private developer, alongside an overarching feeling that the reports simply said what they’d been asked to. They pose more questions than they answer, leading the reader through a maze, hedging bets and relying on the narrow terms of reference to avoid crucial issues. It is an accepted fact that South Bristol needs investment, jobs and improved infrastructure. I would also contend that residents need a signal from those running the city that they are not forgotten. Instead, we are now looking at a process which has not only failed to deliver in every regard, but actually cost millions of pounds of tax payers’ money to achieve precisely nothing. Too often, the challenges facing Bristol South residents seem overlooked when strategic decisions are taken. Embedded areas of poverty, poor transport links, and an overreliance on the city centre for jobs are all at play but, as with the recent Metrobus mess, apparently not properly considered. We cannot allow the arena plans to be discarded without an urgent conversation about what replaces it. If the decision makers are of the opinion that the Temple Meads arena is not viable, a view I disagree with, they are duty bound to say what will take its place. One thing is certain – another 20 years of talk and uncertainty simply will not do.
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