Extra £15m pledged towards possible Bristol underground

A further £15m has been pledged towards a possible new underground network for Bristol.

Mayor Marvin Rees made the announcement in his last State of the City speech.

He said "Bristolians have waited long enough" for a new transport network to alleviate the city's traffic problems.

It was his penultimate address as the city's mayor after voters opted to dispense with the role and return to a committee system.

Mr Rees, who became Bristol's elected mayor in 2016, said he hoped city politicians could work together and "continue the momentum" his administration had started.

He said the "economic and geological assessments" of a potential mass transit network had been completed.

"We are about to commit a further £15m with our neighbours to take this work to the next stage," he said.

"Overground and underground networks are fast, efficient, low-carbon transport systems. They are essential for a modern, crowded city.

"There cannot be any U-turns, no shying away from the challenge of delivery for those who come next, be they Bristol councillors or the combined authority."

Mr Rees said that overall, despite progress being made on housing and on major projects such as the development at Temple Island, his administration had inherited a "decaying" infrastructure.

"From the crumbling harbour wall, to a collapsing Chocolate Path to at least eight bridges with structural flaws, the city we have inherited is one in which so much is at end of life," he continued.

"I liken it to taking ownership of a car that has never been serviced and then told the cam belt urgently needed changing. In the case of the Chocolate Path, it snapped."

He said £18m had been set aside to repair the following bridges; Redcliffe, Prince Street, Gaol Ferry, Sparke Evans, Bath and Bedminster bridges, Langton Street, Vauxhall and Avon.

Mr Rees also defended his decision to stop plans to build Bristol's long-awaited arena on Temple Island, and instead switch to a site on the northern outskirts of the city, on the former Filton Airfield.

He said the "Twitterati", along with previous council administrations, had supported the Temple Island plan "against the financial intelligence".

"We could have proceeded with the decision based on this political noise or we could make the right decision based on that financial evidence. We made the right decision," said Mr Rees.

"Instead, we now get the homes, the hotel and the conference centre and jobs on Temple Island and the UK's third largest and Europe's most sustainable arena."

There have been warnings over possible transport chaos as it was revealed stations planned to serve the Filton arena may not be built until after the venue is finished.

Mr Rees also announced three new international ambassadors for Bristol - Bristol Bears and England rugby player Ellis Genge, Shawn Sobers, UWE professor and We Are Bristol History Commission member, and Helen Cole, CEO and founder of the In Between Time Festival.

He said the trio would use their "expertise and relationships" to increase the city's profile in the UK and abroad.

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