www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/huge-support-bristol-rovers-plan-8677192 Full Article
Huge support for Bristol Rovers plan as new stand becomes a political football
As Rovers kick off the season with no stand and no planning permission (yet) the length of time the council is taking to decide on their plan has sparked a huge political row.
The number of letters supporting Bristol Rovers’ plan to build a new stand at the Memorial Stadium is rapidly approaching 1,000 as the application - and the length of time it is taking to get permission - becomes a political football off the pitch.
The unprecedented number of people writing in to City Hall to register their support for the proposal saw almost 600 submissions in just the first three days of last week - before a bitter war of words over the plan was sparked at the weekend.
That row centred around a decision to ‘call-in’ the planning application, so that it will be debated and decided on by councillors at City Hall rather than be decided on by a planning officer under delegated powers.
Last week, Bristol Live reported that almost 200 people had written in to object to the application, but that this number had quickly been overtaken by the numbers writing in to support. By August 3, almost 350 submissions of support had been published on the council’s planning portal site.
In the week since, just a handful of new objections have been submitted, but almost 600 new letters of support had been received at City Hall, all calling for permission to be granted for the new South Stand, and explaining how it would improve facilities for supporters at the club.
In last week’s report, Bristol Live reported that one of the local councillors, Cllr Emma Edwards (Green, Bishopston & Ashley Down ward) had ‘called-in’ the application. She said that while she supported the principle of a new stand, the club’s application for it had issues, and needed further scrutiny.
At the weekend, Bristol Rovers played their first home league game of the season, with an empty space at one end of the pitch where the new stand is proposed. With Rovers fans fearing it could be months before planning permission is granted and the new stand is built, Bristol’s ruling Labour group attacked the Greens over the Memorial Stadium plan.
First, Cllr Tom Renhard (Lab, Horfield ) penned an article criticising Cllr Edwards for calling in the application, which he said would lead to longer delays in making a decision. He then claimed this followed a pattern going back many years of Green Party councillors opposing plans by football clubs - citing opposition to Bristol Sport owner Steve Lansdown’s plan to build 510 homes near Ashton Gate to help fund the new ‘Sporting Quarter’ there, opposition to the plan to build a Sainsbury’s at the Memorial Stadium and move Rovers’ ground to a site at UWE, and opposition to Bristol City’s plans more than ten years ago to build a new stadium at Ashton Vale.
“Not only do they (Rovers) remain at the Mem, but it now only has three stands instead of the usual four,” Cllr Renhard said. “As things stand, from one end the usual chorus of Goodnight Irene will be replaced by an eerie silence.
“Rovers are currently trying to rectify this. They’re applying for planning permission to build a relatively modest stand which would bring the number of supporters up to its pre-Covid capacity, helping to support the sustainability of the club," said Cllr Renhard.“The Green Party ward councillor has taken issue with this – opting to ‘call in’ the planning application so it is delayed and decided on by councillors, rather than being assessed by planning officers and approved by the council if it meets the criteria for development. There are no reasonable grounds to reject their application. The Mem’s been a sports stadium for more than a hundred years after all,” he added.
“Yet, with Rovers’ first home game on Saturday, this process is being dragged out longer than it needs to be. This call-in will mean thousands of fans missing the opportunity to attend potentially months of matches. Not only is this harmful for Rovers as a club, but for supporters and for the local businesses that rely on the footfall.
“As a neighbouring councillor, I of course understand some residents’ frustrations. It is right and proper that the planning process is followed by all and consideration is given to the impact on members of the community affected. It would clearly be better to open a constructive dialogue with the club to ensure the construction starts at a reasonable time and that disruption to local residents remains minimal,” he added.
Calling on Cllr Edwards to withdraw the ‘call-in’, Cllr Renhard said: “The Green Party should today withdraw their ‘call-in’ application and let officers make a decision in line with the existing policies, which I hope can be expedited to be resolved as quickly as possible for all concerned in line with planning processes.”
This was backed by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, who shared the article on X (formerly Twitter) and said: “Ten years on from trying to block Bristol Rovers’ UWE stadium, the Green Party are delaying the new stand at the Mem by months. Great piece from Cllr Tom Renhard – the Green Party should withdraw their 'call-in' application.”
The Head of the Mayor’s Office, Kevin Slocombe, also tweeted: “Bristol Green Party opposing Rovers’ South Stand plans is causing delays and typical of their lack of support for the football clubs and growth in general.”
And a post from Bristol Labour claimed: “3,500 Gasheads missed today's game without the new stand at the Mem, and so local businesses lost out too #GreenPartyDelays must end – they should stop holding up Bristol Rovers’ planning application, like they did did with the UWE Stadium.”
In theory, calling in an application to be decided by councillors rather than officers should have little impact on the time it takes to gain permission. Council officers using delegated powers still have to cover all the issues, write the same report explaining their decision, as they would do submitting a report for councillors to read at a committee meeting, a report which would recommend permission instead of granting it themselves.
But at City Hall there is not only a shortage of planning officers and a backlog of planning applications, there is also a queue of applications to go before one of the two councillor committees, and Bristol Rovers will hope the extra hurdle can quickly be overcome.
Bristol Live asked the Mayor's Office if they could confirm how much extra time would be required for the application to go to a committee, rather than be dealt with by a council officer - the Mayor's post said 'months' - but the Mayor's Office said this was unknown, and would depend on the councillors who chair each of the two planning committees.
In January, Bristol Live reported on huge backlogs in the planning system at City Hall in Bristol, with some straightforward applications taking a year or more to be decided, and months to even be allocated a planning officer to decide on them.
Last week, Bristol Live reported that Rovers initially submitted an application for the new stand in February, but it was not until April that this plan was deemed acceptable to be received by planning officers. It was not until June that application was formally registered, and the lengthy process of public consultation, drawing up reports, assessing design, build, materials and impact began.
The club pulled down the two temporary stands in the south and south west corner of the ground over the summer, after submitting a planning application to demolish them and build a new stand.
Bristol Rovers played Barnsley on Saturday and the Mem was a full house as 7,929 watched a 1-1 draw. The club had to reconfigure arrangements for away fans and the home fans who’d bought season tickets for the proposed new stand.
The Memorial Stadium lies in the Bishopston and Ashley Down ward, which has two Green Party councillors. One recently stood down, prompting a by-election, which will be held on August 24, and the other is Cllr Edwards, who said she was not against the plan for a new stand.
She defended her decision to call-in the planning application, and hit back at the criticism from Labour, sarcastically replying to criticism from Bristol Labour, and the claims that ‘3,500 Rovers fans missed the game because of her ‘call-in’. “Oh yeah they would have absolutely been able to have got planning permission despite the six month backlog; actually built the stand and done the several test runs needed for a safety certificate to sell tickets in two weeks if I had just ignored residents and not called it in,” she said.
“Not to mention that delays have been caused by: BCC planning backlog, when the club got the paperwork in, and that the stand is not built or tested or safety approved. To imply that Gasheads (actually more away fans) missed the game because of us is outrageously inaccurate,” she added.
Cllr Edwards said she had been meeting and working with the club to go through the planning application, and had also been working with the local Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire on the plan.
“Tom (Renhard) could have simply asked me 'Why have you called it in?' rather than publishing an article assuming I hadn't spoken to them, and that my call-in was me trying to stop the development rather than giving them time to get things right.
“Tom wrote an article dragging me through the mud for not doing things that if he had just asked me he would know I had done. I wonder if Bristol Labour have secured planning permission for the massive hole they are digging themselves into?
“I have met with Tom Gorringe, and we've exchanged emails where I have offered my help and support with the application and community engagement. I have also said that if the club sort out all the mistakes so far I am happy to support the development.
“The stand also needs to go through various safety trials to get a safety certificate and there was no way they could have done this in time for the season start, yet they had sold tickets already.
“I will do all I can to help the club, and I think community engagement will be key to future success. I’m concerned that they were badly advised as even without my involvement the current planning backlog is many months and they wouldn’t have got it ready for this season. By going to committee they will have the chance to show they are willing to put things right.
"Whatever they build must be safe for fans. I’m not against any development, but all the proper impact assessments need to be done, as well as proper community engagement. At the time I called it in there were concerns about all of this and safety in particular. If all ducks get lined up few would oppose it I think,” she added.
She highlighted "health and safety concerns" and "minimal" consultation with residents, adding: "There have been 200+’comments on the application, it’s reasonable to call it in.
“He (Cllr Renhard) didn’t even know what ward it (the Memorial Stadium) was in a month ago. He has never asked me for an update on the work I have done on this. If he had he would know how I have offered to help the club and had meetings with them. This is cheap political point scoring, nothing more,” she added.
