Earlier this week, the Mayor and his Cabinet met at the Council House – one of the items of the Agenda was a report recommending the selection of a preferred operator of the Bristol Arena

Much of the report was confidential – and Councillors who had seen had had to sign confidentiality clauses – but the Mayor revealed on Tuesday that a consortium of SMG Europe and LiveNation are the preferred bidders with whom it is hoped that Council will agree a full contract. He duly approved the report and the Council Officers will now continue the negotiations with a view to reaching a full agreement.

During the meeting, the Mayor committed to further reports being made to Cabinet at key points in the development of the Arena – including on the impact on local residents, parking and a ‘Community Infrastructure Levy’ on the Arena operator. Of course, a final decision on that is some way off – but Councillor Mark Bailey and I, along with the local Liberal Democrat Council Group, will be monitoring this and continuing to press for measures that ensure local residents are not disadvantaged.

You can read my Statement to Cabinet in full here.