Bristol arena 'should not be in city centre'

An area of land in Bristol should be used for homes, shops, a hotel and conference centre rather than an arena, council officers have recommended.

Bristol City Cabinet papers, published ahead of a planning meeting next month, make the recommendation for the Temple Island site.

Proposals for an arena there were first mooted in 2003 but have been beset by delays and rising costs.

The development has been at the centre of a political wrangle.

The report recommends that a proposed project to build a 12,000-seat venue on the city centre site be halted, and recommends new plans for a mixed-use development be looked at instead, as this would deliver a bigger boost to Bristol's economy.

It also recommends the council develops a business case for the reallocation to other projects of the £53m Economic Development Fund (EDF) money that has been earmarked for the arena project at Temple Island.

If the recommendations are approved at a council meeting on 4 September, it would mean a new music venue is likely to be built instead at an airport hangar in Filton, five miles away.

The alternative plans for the £300m development were unveiled on Thursday.