Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter Development to break ground in 2025

Ashton Gate Ltd has confirmed this week that the legal challenge which delayed the start of the Sporting Quarter and Longmoor Village developments has been dismissed by the High Court and with no further right to appeal.

The Honourable Mr Justice Lavender ruled that there were no special circumstances which would allow local waste company ETM to have more time after the legal deadline to challenge the planning permission for Longmoor Village, so dismissed its case before it was even heard.

Justice Lavender said:

I have concluded that I should not extend the time for filing the claim form. In my judgment, the factors which point in favour of the claimant’s application are outweighed by those which point the other way.

Speaking on the ruling, Martin Griffiths, Chairman, Ashton Gate Stadium, said:

I’m delighted that the ruling in the High Court means that two very significant development projects for Bristol can finally be restarted.

It has been hugely frustrating to have these multi-million-pound investments into South Bristol so delayed, but we are pleased that Justice Lavender dismissed the case, and we are now able to pick up where we left off a year ago.

We have now re-started the project team for the Sporting Quarter and hope to break ground next year.

Mark Kelly, CEO, Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter, was one of 60+ C-suite speakers that shared insights at last month’s 2024 SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition, which welcomed 240 industry executives. Mr Kelly joined the “Building Blocks: Optimising New Build & Renovations Projects” panel session alongside representatives from Connacht Rugby, Everton Stadium, and Principality Stadium Experience/WRU, available to watch online here.

Ashton Gate was finally granted planning permission in August 2023 for a Sports & Convention Centre and hotel to be built next door to the stadium. This will see a home for the Bristol Flyers basketball team at BS3 in a multi-purpose 5,000-seater arena.

The development was linked with the planning permission approved for almost 500 much-needed homes at Longmoor, including more than 150 affordable homes, half-a-mile to the south west of the stadium. When the legal challenge was lodged by ETM both projects were stalled.

Watch the Sports & Convention Centre 3D fly-through online here.

Bristol Flyers CEO Lisa Knights said:

This has been a long-time coming and Flyers cannot wait for it to get started. Since 2018, when these plans were first unveiled, the sport of basketball has grown massively in the UK. With sell-out crowds consistently at our current home of SGS College Arena, having a bigger, purpose-built venue will ensure the financial sustainability of the Flyers and an exciting future for basketball in Bristol and the South West.

Source & imagery, courtesy: Ashton Gate

Sports Venue Business launched the hugely successful SVB LIVEseries of events in late 2023, featuring Global Networking Events & Webinars, with the pinnacle being the SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition. The 2024 edition was held at Croke Park, with some 240 high-level execs from across the global sports and entertainment sector in attendance.