Adam Trimingham's article in the Argus re Falmer.
- Thread starter Hadlee
- Start date
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
- Jul 7, 2003
- 48,443
Surely it's a valid point of the case that the key local media have come out in favour?
They wouldn't do that if they thought they'd lose readers because of it, so it must be somewhat reflective of opinion, therefore is vitally important to the application. I hope Prescott knows how much the Argus and any other local media are in favour, and thus how much political capital he'll lose if he rejects the application.
They wouldn't do that if they thought they'd lose readers because of it, so it must be somewhat reflective of opinion, therefore is vitally important to the application. I hope Prescott knows how much the Argus and any other local media are in favour, and thus how much political capital he'll lose if he rejects the application.
Lush
Mods' Pet
Now they finally realise that the city could LOSE their football team - and how many readers would they lose if there was NO Albion coverage? - they realise that they have to play their part.
I'm just pleased they came fully on board eventually.
I'm just pleased they came fully on board eventually.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 48,443
Who cares what their motives are, you can stop buying it after this is all over if you want.
We need their support for now, so I for one salute them!
We need their support for now, so I for one salute them!
Brighton Breezy
New member
I am with Edna. Ok, so people might not have realised until now how serious the situation is, but we are in no position to turn away help.
Dave the OAP
Well-known member
I am still not 100% convinced the Argus were ever against Falmer.
They have to be seen to be providing a balanced view of every arguement or would risk alienating their readers.
There at many people in Brighton and Hove who are against the Falmer project (FG
) and they have to report their views just as they report our views.
Remember, The Argus is not just a "Brighton" paper, its circulation includes the whole of Sussex and parts of Surrey and Kent ( as well as being sold in London).
Those who trash the Argus do the paper a dis-service.
Dave the voice of reason in a tempestuous sea of discontent
They have to be seen to be providing a balanced view of every arguement or would risk alienating their readers.
There at many people in Brighton and Hove who are against the Falmer project (FG
) and they have to report their views just as they report our views.Remember, The Argus is not just a "Brighton" paper, its circulation includes the whole of Sussex and parts of Surrey and Kent ( as well as being sold in London).
Those who trash the Argus do the paper a dis-service.
Dave the voice of reason in a tempestuous sea of discontent
Lush
Mods' Pet
dave the gaffer said:
There at many people in Brighton and Hove who are against the Falmer project (FG
This is true, although I think FG is pro-Falmer but anti-Knight.
It's not just the Falmer NIMBY's who are against Falmer. A lot of the "just moved down from London Greens" don't like any development, of any kind. Then there are the people who think football clubs mean trashed pubs, police horses round the station and the town centre a no-go zone on a Saturday.
Although a minority of Brighton residents are against Falmer, it is still a sizeable one. The Argus have stuck their necks out by finally siding with us (after years of sitting on the fence) - and for that I thank them.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
A quite beautiful metaphor sir.dave the gaffer said:
I have stored it away within my subconcious for use at a later date. I have taken the liberty of inserting a commer though.
Dave the OAP
Well-known member
no problem, feel free
London Calling
New member
Lush said:
Nine to ONe FORRRRRR I believe
LC
Storer68
New member
I am sending a copy to prescott's office this afternoon
34064 Fighter Command
New member
If you're a ' Green ' why are you moving away from London anyway ?
Aren't they exactly the people who are creating the demand for the extra housing accomodation in the first place ? Thereby causing the loss of more countryside.
Anyway, I've decided ' the Greens ' are a ' do as I say, not as I do ' kind of party, so I don't take them seriously.
It would be ' greener ' to stay put in London !
Aren't they exactly the people who are creating the demand for the extra housing accomodation in the first place ? Thereby causing the loss of more countryside.
Anyway, I've decided ' the Greens ' are a ' do as I say, not as I do ' kind of party, so I don't take them seriously.
It would be ' greener ' to stay put in London !
The Famous Grouse
New member
- Dec 9, 2003
- 1,811
Desert Orchid said:
True
Lord Bracknell
On fire
Fans are the key to saving our Seagulls
By ADAM TRIMINGHAM
THE frustrations of being a
Brighton and Hove Albion fan
are so great it’s a wonder there
are as many of them as there are.
After the glory days of being in the
First Division and the FA Cup Final
more than 20 years ago, the story has
been largely one of disappointment
with only a few goodies, such as successive
promotions, to relieve the
pain.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Albion
were a small Midlands or northern
club such as Walsall, Crewe or Tranmere
with a limited catchment area,
destined to be in the shadow of
impressive neighbours.
Albion are about 40 miles from
their nearest rivals, Crystal Palace.
There are more than 1.5 million people
in Sussex who might support
them.
To the west the nearest club is
Portsmouth, 50 miles away, and to
the east there is nothing at all.
Even fans in south London
might support Albion. Brighton is
less than an hour away by train or
car and a visit to see the Seagulls can
be combined with a day out on the
coast.
Unlike many other clubs, Albion
have reached the heights. No one
associated with them will forget that
FA Cup final with mighty Manchester
United or rubbing shoulders with
the other clubs in the top flight.
But the seeds of destruction were
planted which rapidly led to decline.
No one really knows what happened
to all the money that must
have been amassed during those
halcyon days, even if you reckon
some of it went on wages for average
players.
All fans know is, following the elation
of the Eighties, Albion reached
the end of the Nineties having to sell
their beloved Goldstone Ground
when there was no other home.
Loyal supporters remember the
grim seasons when they had to
travel 80 miles to Gillingham in Kent
to watch home matches.
Albion only just stayed in the
Football League after another memorable
match and surprisingly
climbed two divisions after that to
reach Division One, although they
have slipped back a notch since
then.
To the relief of almost everyone
they found a home at Withdean in
Brighton but this athletics ground is
no place for a club with aspirations.
The need for a permanent home is
urgent. No club can survive for long
in a temporary stadium with a
strictly limited capacity and it’s not
fair on the surrounding area that it
should be forced to do so.
If Albion were almost anywhere
else in England, finding that ground
would not be a problem.
But because Brighton and Hove is
sandwiched so tightly between the
South Downs and the sea, there is no
perfect site.
It is the same problem that blights
the city when it tries to find homes
for gipsy encampments, rubbish disposal,
park-and-ride, low-cost homes
and other uses.
The site at Village Way North in
Falmer, chosen for the ground, is by
no means ideal.
That is why it has been rejected
by Charles Hoile, an independent
inspector who held a long public
inquiry last year into the Local Plan.
If you look at Falmer in a national
context, as Mr Hoile did, it is close to
the Downs. It faces opposition from
neighbours and conservationists.
But you have to look at Falmer in
the context of Brighton and Hove.
The site is not obviously in the
Downs. It is well-served by public
and private transport.
There is enormous support for it
from fans and many others.
If not Falmer, where else do you
place a community stadium for more
than 20,000 people? Albion and the
council looked at more than 40 sites
before settling on a few that looked
possible.
But when you examine them
closely, all their disadvantages are
far greater than those at Falmer.
Take the Brighton station site. The
stadium could only just fit there and
it already has planning permission
for other uses.
Shoreham Harbour has insuperable
traffic problems which have so
far ruled it out for any development,
let alone a stadium. Newhaven is
simply too far away.
Toad’s Hole Valley in Hove is on
the right side of the Brighton bypass
but is privately owned by a firm
which would want its share of the
profits and might not let it go. The
stadium would also be in a bowl and
the noise would echo around hundreds
of homes.
Sheepcote Valley was favoured by
Mr Hoile as a possible option but it is
an old rubbish tip with poor transport
links.
Then there is Waterhall, long
mooted as a possible site. It has road
and rail links but an access road
would take a huge amount of land.
Plonking a football stadium in
this valley would give the green
light to all sorts of other schemes on
land about to become part of a
national park.
So it has to be Falmer. But not
according to Mr Hoile. While the
Local Plan is largely in the end a
matter for the council to decide, it
was John Prescott who called in the
community stadium scheme for an
inquiry and ultimately it is his decision.
Ministers can override their
planning inspectors. It was done to
deleterious effect in Brighton over
the bypass when Tory ministers in
the Eighties omitted tunnels under
the ridges at Dyke Road and Ditchling
Road that would have mitigated
the adverse effects of the downland
dual carriageway.
But Mr Prescott has been no
friend of Sussex in general and
Brighton in particular when it has
come to other issues such as housing
allocations in the South-East or
grants to local councils.
He will, no doubt, have received a
few friendly words of advice from
luminaries such as the three local
MPs and Lord Bassam of Brighton,
the former council leader.
Mr Prescott will also have seen
the support from fans in the form of
many Valentine’s bouquets sent to
him this week which even now may
be brightening up his London office.
Fighting
I have known plenty of other
determined sets of fans in the past.
In my first journalistic job, which
was more years ago than I can count
with all my fingers and toes plus
those of my wife, I had to cover Fulham
at Craven Cottage.
Fulham were then, as now, in the
top division and forever fighting
against relegation. Fans would scoff
the antics of such eager but limited
players as Tosh Chamberlain
and Jimmy Hill (now of Hurstpierpoint),
who subsequently achieved
far more as a pundit.
But when it came to the crunch,
their metropolitan cynicism turned
into support for their hapless team.
It continued until one year the
trapdoor became too large to avoid
but, after many miserable seasons
below, Fulham found a saviour in Al-
Fayed and are prospering.
They have also had a problem
with their ground in the past few
seasons but it is possible fan power
will eventually drive them back to
the Cottage where they belong. It’s a
pity Albion can’t go back to the Goldstone.
QPR, another club I covered,
spent a season lost in White City
while I was there.
The fans showed plainly what
they thought of that move and soon
Rangers were back in the cramped
but comfortable confines of Loftus
Road, where the loyalty of supporters
from Shepherd’s Bush continues
to astonish those from outside.
Albion’s long-term outlook is
great if they can just get over this
single but big problem of the ground.
Look at Southampton, an unfashionable
club who have managed to
stay in the top division for many
years and have a fine new ground.
Even closer to home are
Portsmouth, in the First Division
when I was a child but poor relations
for many years after that, until now.
These two clubs are close to each
other and neither city is as big as
Brighton and Hove. Yet they can,
and do, play in the Premiership.
If Albion start to prosper, there
ought to be a billionaire or six living
nearby prepared to bankroll the
club.
Meanwhile Roman Abramovich,
from Midhurst, has backed Chelsea
while Sir Jack Hayward, from Warninglid,
has ploughed millions into
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But the future of the Albion now
probably rests with Mr Prescott.
If anything swings the decision in
favour of the Albion, it will be the
fans.
This week they have come to the
aid of their beleaguered club with
wit, panache, zest and passion.
There will be singing in the streets
of the city if Falmer is agreed but if
the plan fails they may as well play a
funeral march.
By ADAM TRIMINGHAM
THE frustrations of being a
Brighton and Hove Albion fan
are so great it’s a wonder there
are as many of them as there are.
After the glory days of being in the
First Division and the FA Cup Final
more than 20 years ago, the story has
been largely one of disappointment
with only a few goodies, such as successive
promotions, to relieve the
pain.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Albion
were a small Midlands or northern
club such as Walsall, Crewe or Tranmere
with a limited catchment area,
destined to be in the shadow of
impressive neighbours.
Albion are about 40 miles from
their nearest rivals, Crystal Palace.
There are more than 1.5 million people
in Sussex who might support
them.
To the west the nearest club is
Portsmouth, 50 miles away, and to
the east there is nothing at all.
Even fans in south London
might support Albion. Brighton is
less than an hour away by train or
car and a visit to see the Seagulls can
be combined with a day out on the
coast.
Unlike many other clubs, Albion
have reached the heights. No one
associated with them will forget that
FA Cup final with mighty Manchester
United or rubbing shoulders with
the other clubs in the top flight.
But the seeds of destruction were
planted which rapidly led to decline.
No one really knows what happened
to all the money that must
have been amassed during those
halcyon days, even if you reckon
some of it went on wages for average
players.
All fans know is, following the elation
of the Eighties, Albion reached
the end of the Nineties having to sell
their beloved Goldstone Ground
when there was no other home.
Loyal supporters remember the
grim seasons when they had to
travel 80 miles to Gillingham in Kent
to watch home matches.
Albion only just stayed in the
Football League after another memorable
match and surprisingly
climbed two divisions after that to
reach Division One, although they
have slipped back a notch since
then.
To the relief of almost everyone
they found a home at Withdean in
Brighton but this athletics ground is
no place for a club with aspirations.
The need for a permanent home is
urgent. No club can survive for long
in a temporary stadium with a
strictly limited capacity and it’s not
fair on the surrounding area that it
should be forced to do so.
If Albion were almost anywhere
else in England, finding that ground
would not be a problem.
But because Brighton and Hove is
sandwiched so tightly between the
South Downs and the sea, there is no
perfect site.
It is the same problem that blights
the city when it tries to find homes
for gipsy encampments, rubbish disposal,
park-and-ride, low-cost homes
and other uses.
The site at Village Way North in
Falmer, chosen for the ground, is by
no means ideal.
That is why it has been rejected
by Charles Hoile, an independent
inspector who held a long public
inquiry last year into the Local Plan.
If you look at Falmer in a national
context, as Mr Hoile did, it is close to
the Downs. It faces opposition from
neighbours and conservationists.
But you have to look at Falmer in
the context of Brighton and Hove.
The site is not obviously in the
Downs. It is well-served by public
and private transport.
There is enormous support for it
from fans and many others.
If not Falmer, where else do you
place a community stadium for more
than 20,000 people? Albion and the
council looked at more than 40 sites
before settling on a few that looked
possible.
But when you examine them
closely, all their disadvantages are
far greater than those at Falmer.
Take the Brighton station site. The
stadium could only just fit there and
it already has planning permission
for other uses.
Shoreham Harbour has insuperable
traffic problems which have so
far ruled it out for any development,
let alone a stadium. Newhaven is
simply too far away.
Toad’s Hole Valley in Hove is on
the right side of the Brighton bypass
but is privately owned by a firm
which would want its share of the
profits and might not let it go. The
stadium would also be in a bowl and
the noise would echo around hundreds
of homes.
Sheepcote Valley was favoured by
Mr Hoile as a possible option but it is
an old rubbish tip with poor transport
links.
Then there is Waterhall, long
mooted as a possible site. It has road
and rail links but an access road
would take a huge amount of land.
Plonking a football stadium in
this valley would give the green
light to all sorts of other schemes on
land about to become part of a
national park.
So it has to be Falmer. But not
according to Mr Hoile. While the
Local Plan is largely in the end a
matter for the council to decide, it
was John Prescott who called in the
community stadium scheme for an
inquiry and ultimately it is his decision.
Ministers can override their
planning inspectors. It was done to
deleterious effect in Brighton over
the bypass when Tory ministers in
the Eighties omitted tunnels under
the ridges at Dyke Road and Ditchling
Road that would have mitigated
the adverse effects of the downland
dual carriageway.
But Mr Prescott has been no
friend of Sussex in general and
Brighton in particular when it has
come to other issues such as housing
allocations in the South-East or
grants to local councils.
He will, no doubt, have received a
few friendly words of advice from
luminaries such as the three local
MPs and Lord Bassam of Brighton,
the former council leader.
Mr Prescott will also have seen
the support from fans in the form of
many Valentine’s bouquets sent to
him this week which even now may
be brightening up his London office.
Fighting
I have known plenty of other
determined sets of fans in the past.
In my first journalistic job, which
was more years ago than I can count
with all my fingers and toes plus
those of my wife, I had to cover Fulham
at Craven Cottage.
Fulham were then, as now, in the
top division and forever fighting
against relegation. Fans would scoff
the antics of such eager but limited
players as Tosh Chamberlain
and Jimmy Hill (now of Hurstpierpoint),
who subsequently achieved
far more as a pundit.
But when it came to the crunch,
their metropolitan cynicism turned
into support for their hapless team.
It continued until one year the
trapdoor became too large to avoid
but, after many miserable seasons
below, Fulham found a saviour in Al-
Fayed and are prospering.
They have also had a problem
with their ground in the past few
seasons but it is possible fan power
will eventually drive them back to
the Cottage where they belong. It’s a
pity Albion can’t go back to the Goldstone.
QPR, another club I covered,
spent a season lost in White City
while I was there.
The fans showed plainly what
they thought of that move and soon
Rangers were back in the cramped
but comfortable confines of Loftus
Road, where the loyalty of supporters
from Shepherd’s Bush continues
to astonish those from outside.
Albion’s long-term outlook is
great if they can just get over this
single but big problem of the ground.
Look at Southampton, an unfashionable
club who have managed to
stay in the top division for many
years and have a fine new ground.
Even closer to home are
Portsmouth, in the First Division
when I was a child but poor relations
for many years after that, until now.
These two clubs are close to each
other and neither city is as big as
Brighton and Hove. Yet they can,
and do, play in the Premiership.
If Albion start to prosper, there
ought to be a billionaire or six living
nearby prepared to bankroll the
club.
Meanwhile Roman Abramovich,
from Midhurst, has backed Chelsea
while Sir Jack Hayward, from Warninglid,
has ploughed millions into
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But the future of the Albion now
probably rests with Mr Prescott.
If anything swings the decision in
favour of the Albion, it will be the
fans.
This week they have come to the
aid of their beleaguered club with
wit, panache, zest and passion.
There will be singing in the streets
of the city if Falmer is agreed but if
the plan fails they may as well play a
funeral march.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
There's not a word of that piece that I can find fault with.
We have at least one good Argus journalist working for us.
We have at least one good Argus journalist working for us.
Wienergull
Geht in Ordnung
Puts the case beautifully. Isn't Adam Trimmingham a Lib-Dem? Perhaps he could have a word in Norman B****'s shell-like.
The Famous Grouse
New member
- Dec 9, 2003
- 1,811
Well said Adam t, shame the tarts at meridian cant give us their time and help