Buckingham Group, the contractor carrying out pre-construction work on the new £123 million Bristol Arena, has been told to pause work as consultants expand the scope of a value-for-money review.

Mayor Marvin Rees has instructed KPMG to increase the scope of its review to take in the location, design and the possibility of private financing as part of a thorough assessment of options.

Buckingham Group were recently appointed under a 'Pre-Construction Services Agreement' for the project.

The results of the review are expected next month, with a decision on how to move forward with the project expected at a Cabinet meeting in January.

The current projected budget for the arena is £123.5m, for which funding is available from the Economic Development Fund (£53m), operator contribution and income (£42.5m) and infrastructure funding associated with the wider Temple Meads East project(£28m).

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However, the council said building the arena to its current design on the proposed site remains "highly likely" to cost significantly more than this, "although the precise target figure is commercially sensitive and remains confidential".

It added the current target date to open the arena is 2020, however this depends on "what options are recommended by the council's consultants and what future decisions are made".

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol said: “We can't commit to the current design on this specific site at any cost and I wouldn't want that kind of blinkered approach to become the arena's undoing.

"A lot of work continues to go into the project and this pause shouldn't be mistaken for a backwards step. We're operating to the same decision-making timeline that's been previously announced.

"This is about doing the sensible thing in looking at all of the possibilities and being open minded about where the advice received takes us. Whatever happens the arena will become reality and we remain on-track for a report to Cabinet in January.

"What we're seeing with the cost is a challenge and we need to deal with it. I've asked our consultants KPMG to consider every avenue. This includes raising private investment, thinking about other sites and considering designs which could be delivered within budget. Nothing is off the table because one way or another this city is going to get an arena it can afford."

(LM)