Independent council candidate Anthony Butcher calls for a referendum on the Bristol stadium project.
"Give us a referendum on the stadium" was the call today from Anthony Butcher, an independent council candidate for Long Ashton in next May's election.

"Bristol City Council has resorted to asking both sides of the debate to compromise over the stadium project, and it is clear that they don't know how to proceed." claimed Mr Butcher, a trustee of the Long Ashton Community Association.

"Why don't the two councils involved give us a referendum on the issue instead, as they should have done in the first place? Ask the residents of Long Ashton and Ashton Vale what they think of the proposed commercial development of the area. We are, after all, the people who will have to live with the results, both positive and negative" added the former hospital campaigner.

"The people of Bristol also deserve a say. The council spent over £360,000 on the failed World Cup bid, £270,000 on a giant World Cup screen, gifted £4.5 million worth of land to the developers and waived millions of pounds worth of Section 106 fees. Are Bristolians happy about the way this project has been handled?"

A referendum could be held at minimal cost at the same time as the council elections in May next year, and could also include questions about the South West Bristol Urban Extension plan, the expansion of Bristol Airport from 6 million passengers to 10 million and the sale of Bristol's green spaces.