UWE Stadium

UWE Stadium

Artist's impression of the proposed UWE Stadium
Location Cheswick, South Gloucestershire
Coordinates 51°29′56″N 2°33′26″W / 51.498912°N 2.557135°W
Owner Bristol Rovers
Operator Bristol Rovers
Capacity 21,700
Construction
Construction cost £40 million
Architect Arturus Architects LLP[1]
Main contractors Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd
Tenants
Bristol Rovers
Website
www.uwestadium.com

UWE Stadium is the provisional name for a proposed 21,700 all-seater stadium to be built in Cheswick, in South Gloucestershire, as a new home for Football Conference side Bristol Rovers. The stadium will replace their current home, the Memorial Stadium which will be sold to supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The sale of the Memorial Stadium site will partially fund the project.[2]

History

Having left their long-term home at Eastville Stadium in 1986, Bristol Rovers spent ten years in exile at Twerton Park in Bath. They finally moved back to Bristol in 1996, becoming joint owners of the Memorial Stadium with Bristol Rugby. They then went on to buy the rugby club's share in the ground in 1998. In 2007, Rovers were granted permission for a complete rebuild of the stadium[3] but, following numerous delays, began seeking alternatives to redeveloping their current home.

On 9 June 2011, Bristol Rovers chairman Nick Higgs announced plans to build a 21,700 all-seater stadium in Cheswick in partnership with UWE. The application to build the stadium was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council on 9 March 2012.[4]

Planning approval

On 19 July 2012, planning permission was granted for the stadium with councillors voting 12 to 1 in favour.[5] The planning meeting for Sainsbury's Memorial Stadium application was initially expected to follow shortly after this, but was delayed and took place on 16 January 2013.[6] Councillors granted permission for the plans, voting 6 to 3 in favour.[7] This was followed by approval by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles in March.[8]

However, the project was put in doubt in September 2013 when a group named TRASHorfield filed an application for a judicial review against Sainsbury's plans[9] which was granted in November.[10] The review was held on 13 March 2014[11] and rejected by Mr Justice Hickinbottom a week later.[12] TRASHorfield appealed this decision on 26 March 2014,[13] which was dismissed by Mr Justice Hickinbottom the same day.[14]

Doubts were raised about the stadium again in August 2014 after it emerged that Rovers had issued a writ against Sainsbury's, alleging that the supermarket chain was attempting to terminate it's contract to buy the Memorial Stadium site.[15]

Location

UWE Stadium
UWE Stadium shown in relation to Bristol

Situated in the University of the West of England's Frenchay campus, It will become the only 20,000+ seater stadium within a university campus in the UK.[16] Though not within the city council boundary of Bristol, the stadium would be located in the area sometimes known as Greater Bristol. The stadium will be located around 1.5 miles from Bristol Rovers current Memorial Stadium home and around 1.8 miles from their former ground at Eastville.

The UWE Stadium will have excellent transport links. The stadium will be just off the A4174 and a short drive from junction 1 of the M32. There will be space for 1,000 cars and coaches with a further 1,500 spaces on campus if needed. It will also be close to both Filton Abbey Wood and Parkway train stations.

Design

The bowl-shaped stadium will be all seated with an initial capacity of 21,700. The stadium has been designed to adhere to international standards for both football and rugby. However, following Bristol City majority shareholder Stephen Lansdown's takeover of Bristol Rugby, they have instead moved to play at Bristol City's Ashton Gate Stadium.[17]

The stadium has been designed to minimise the impact on the local environment, including using the topography of the site to effectively enclose the stadium and minimise noise and light disruption, as well as being designed to allow the capacity to be increased to 26,000 without making any external changes[18] and up to 35,000 should it be needed.

Proposed facilities

Criticism

UWE Students' Union website acknowledge that they have received student criticism but do not share such criticism.[19] One student criticised UWE for considerably inflating the benefits of the planned stadium to UWE students[20] and UWE Students' Union for silencing student criticism.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ARTURUS ARCHITECTS LLP – Bristol Architecture Practice". Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "ROVERS ANNOUNCE NEW STADIUM PLANS". Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Memorial stadium given go-ahead". Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  4. ↑ "STADIUM PLANNING APPLICATION BEING SUBMITTED". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Bristol Rovers new stadium plans approved". BBC News (bbc.co.uk/news). 19 July 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Bristol Rovers' ground Sainsbury's store bid delayed". BBC News (bbc.co.uk/news). 21 November 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Bristol Rovers' ground Sainsbury's store bid approved". BBC (bbc.co.uk). 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "New Bristol Rovers stadium a step closer as Sainsbury's bid to redevelop Memorial Stadium is approved by government". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 12 March 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "Bristol Rovers new stadium could be delayed by legal move". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 11 September 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Judicial review of Memorial Ground supermarket plan will go ahead". Bristol 24/7 (bristol247.com). 15 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "JUDICIAL REVIEW TAKES PLACE". Bristol Rovers (bristolrovers.co.uk). 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Bristol Rovers stadium back on track after judge rejects TRASHorfield's judicial review". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Bristol Rovers: TRASHorfield lodge appeal against High Court ruling". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Bristol Rovers: TRASHorfield refused permission to appeal dismissal of judicial review". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Bristol Rovers insist stadium will still go ahead despite launching lawsuit against Sainsbury's". Bristol Post (bristolpost.co.uk). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "UWE Stadium To Go Above And Beyond Expectations". Western Eye (westerneye.net). 25 October 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "CLUB WILL GROUNDSHARE WITH BRISTOL CITY". Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "UWE Stadium". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "New 'UWE Stadium'". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "UWE stadium: What it means for UWE students". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "How Colin Offler and UWE Bristol Students’ Union (UWESU) dealt with student-led journalistic inquiries about the so-called ‘UWE stadium’". Retrieved 5 December 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 51°29′56″N 2°33′26″W / 51.498912°N 2.557135°W