Image of proposed new stadium

Bosses at Bristol City Football Club say plans for a new 30,000 seat ground will be delayed.

It comes after Bristol City Council's Development Committee rejected plans for a Sainsbury's store to be built at Ashton Gate.

The company had planned to redevelop the current home of Bristol City Football Club.

The deal with Sainsbury's would have enabled the club to fund their plans for a new £92 million stadium at Ashton Vale, but without the planning permission, the deal to sell the land can't go through.

This now casts doubt over whether the stadium will be able to go ahead as the £20 million that would have been generated by the sale was a vital part of their plans.

Wednesday night's decision came as shock to both parties as the application had originally been recommended by planning officers for approval.

Guy Price is the Business Development Office at the club. He said it's hugely disappointing:

"We had worked extremely hard with planning officers, we'd looked at all the planning regulations and requirements in detail and we felt that we exceeded the requirements. We very much regret the fact the members of the committee decided to ignore their professional officers' advice and also chose to ignore the advice they'd paid for from professional experts."

He went on to point out the effect the decision will have on the local economy:

"At a time when thousands of public and private sector jobs are going to be under threat in the years the come, they turn down the strong prospect of 1000 plus new permanent jobs in Bristol, thousands of construction jobs and also £150 million direct investment into the economy of South Bristol."

The club says they will now hold further talks with Sainsbury's and take stock of the situation and assess the viability of the stadium. They do have the option of appealing or a different proposal for the supermarket could be put forward. However, it ultimately means that the stadium plans will be delayed.

The news could also end talk of an arena being built in the city. Bristol City Council and the football club drew up an agreement for a 10,000 seat venue to be built next to the new stadium in the future. However, the implications of the committee's decision could mean that this is also delayed.

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