Amex car park changes - this will upset the early leavers parked in Bennett's Field

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I was correct it was originally only for three years:

By virtue of Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the development to
which this permission relates shall be begun not later than the expiration of THREE
YEARS beginning with the date on which this permission is granted.

The application is subject to the following conditions:

1. The car park hereby approved, including all engineering works involved in the
formation of the car park, shall be authorised by this permission until 30 June 2014 only.
The site shall thereafter be reinstated to agricultural land, in accordance with the
'Restoration to Agriculture, Methodology and Aftercare' report prepared by R A
Davidson (Reading Agricultural Consultants) and dated April 2011 as submitted with the
application. The reinstatement of the site shall be carried out in accordance with a
timetable submitted to and agreed with the Local Planning Authority prior to 30 June
2014.
Reason: The development is of a temporary nature and is only approved to meet the
short term needs of the applicant. Reinstatement of the land is in the landscape
interests of the area, having regard to Policy ST3 of the Lewes District Local Plan

I don't know if I have missed any further development since it was approved back then, but June 2014 and out we go if that is correct.

Interesting.

I wonder what the club is planning, perhaps a planning application combined with the hotel?

 

[BHseagull]

Smart tactic to get fans to stay until the final whistle and buy a cheeky beer / pie after the game. Well played Barber!

 

[Poyningsgull]

Smart tactic to get fans to stay until the final whistle and buy a cheeky beer / pie after the game. Well played Barber!

It will cost them money, because most people will convert to Uni space and leave on the final whistle. They used to hang around before.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I found it ... it was actually 2 years ago .. pasted below

Sent: Friday, 6 January 2012, 13:55
Subject: RE: Amex Transport

Dear Tony

An excellent idea, we are planning to start up a transport/travel forum. It is something I was hoping to have established by now unfortunately we have been incredibly busy dealing with day-to-day stadium activities, match day planning, and the various development proposals we have in the pipeline.

I will keep hold of your details and contact you before the end of the season with the view to setting up a forum to discuss ideas and future improvements. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns I could help you with.

Steve Reeves
Transport Manager
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

So two years after he told you they were setting up a forum to discuss transport.......nothing.

Perhaps you should reply to his two year old email, and ask him when he is setting this forum up?

 

[BHseagull]

It will cost them money, because most people will convert to Uni space and leave on the final whistle. They used to hang around before.

Sorry, who used to hang around?! The stadium empties on the 80th minute. I hope this change allows me to see the last 10 minutes rather than peering between various early leavers who decide to walk past me, blocking my view of the game, very slowly whilst making their way out of the stadium.

 

[Poyningsgull]

Lots of people hung around because they knew they would have a wait anyway. Once converted it the Uni there is no reason to wait.

 

[severnside gull]

Okay. Genuinely fantastically helpful staff have organised transfer to rhe uni. Carpark hanger in the post with replacement on the way in return. So far so good.


I'm guessing that access from the A23/A27 is up the ramp to the stadium then left at the island at the top?
Can anyone advise how early we need to get there to get to the disabled parking area (car park 5?) and get the bus across? We normally aim for 30 to 40 minutes before kick off but waiting for a minibus will maybe add to the time needed? Finally does it go to the coach park or drop somewhere else?
Grateful for any advice.

 

[Titanic]

I'm guessing that access from the A23/A27 is up the ramp to the stadium then left at the island at the top?
Can anyone advise how early we need to get there to get to the disabled parking area (car park 5?) and get the bus across? We normally aim for 30 to 40 minutes before kick off but waiting for a minibus will maybe add to the time needed? Finally does it go to the coach park or drop somewhere else?
Grateful for any advice.

No access direct from A27 Eastbound. You have to go via Coldean and A270 and past the entrance to Stanmer Park.

 

[Superphil]

I know it's only a temporary car park so this is why it hasn't been done, but if BF became a permanent site it is so obvious that the solution to all of this would be to add an exit joining directly on to the roundabout where the Falmer Road meets the start of the slip road for the A27 westbound. The whole problem is not down to the design of the car park, it is the fact the club try to squeeze 800 odd cars out of the same exit as dozens of buses, which are surrounded by thousands of people in queues for them. It's chaos and will never work, no matter how good the car park is or how well the stewards manage it. Build a separate exit from BF direct to the Falmer Road, meaning cars do not have to go up to Village Way, and it would run like clockwork I reckon.

When the Police opperated the car park after the Liverpool cup game we were all out nice and promptly, with no hold ups for the bus and coach travellers either. The difference, the police knew what they were doing, they have prior experience, they have done it before. Shame our transport 'team' won't listen to, or take any advice from, people who know how to do it.

 

[Lincoln Imp]

I know it's only a temporary car park so this is why it hasn't been done, but if BF became a permanent site it is so obvious that the solution to all of this would be to add an exit joining directly on to the roundabout where the Falmer Road meets the start of the slip road for the A27 westbound. The whole problem is not down to the design of the car park, it is the fact the club try to squeeze 800 odd cars out of the same exit as dozens of buses, which are surrounded by thousands of people in queues for them. It's chaos and will never work, no matter how good the car park is or how well the stewards manage it. Build a separate exit from BF direct to the Falmer Road, meaning cars do not have to go up to Village Way, and it would run like clockwork I reckon.

Sorry if I'm missing the bleeding obvious, but as 95 per cent of all vehicles in Village Way after a match turn left to go down to the roundabout you mention surely this will almost the same delays for cars leaving Bennetts Field, although in a different place?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

When the Police opperated the car park after the Liverpool cup game we were all out nice and promptly, with no hold ups for the bus and coach travellers either. The difference, the police knew what they were doing, they have prior experience, they have done it before. Shame our transport 'team' won't listen to, or take any advice from, people who know how to do it.

I'm sure the Traffic Police have a limit to the amount of resources that they can put into resolving problems arising from the finish of a football match. A greater priority must be to maintain safety on the roads - and the location where this is a real issue is the bus stop outside Falmer Station, where the police can do the vital job of preventing cars pulling into the layby to pick up fans who think that is a convenient location to meet up with their post-match lift-giver. It's a manoeuvre that needs to be prevented, because cars pulling out into a fast-moving stream of trunk road traffic can easily cause a very serious crash.

 

[Superphil]

I'm sure the Traffic Police have a limit to the amount of resources that they can put into resolving problems arising from the finish of a football match. A greater priority must be to maintain safety on the roads - and the location where this is a real issue is the bus stop outside Falmer Station, where the police can do the vital job of preventing cars pulling into the layby to pick up fans who think that is a convenient location to meet up with their post-match lift-giver. It's a manoeuvre that needs to be prevented, because cars pulling out into a fast-moving stream of trunk road traffic can easily cause a very serious crash.

Couldn't agree more. When the police did the car park for the Liverpool game I (we) thought, here we go, at last it'll be sorted, just look what a great job they did of it, now all the club has to do is learn and adapt, and we'll all be happy. But they didn't, they took no notice whatsoever from how the police did it, and simply went back to their ill thought out (if indeed it has ever been thought out) policy which is totally ineffective. The club had a golden opportunity to learn something, they didn't. Whether it is some sort of ego problem (quite likely) or simply that they are too stupid to learn (also quite likely) I don't know, one thing for sure, the solution is there, without the need for curfews, holding back traffic, or moving to the university car park.

 

[chimneys]

I'm sure the Traffic Police have a limit to the amount of resources that they can put into resolving problems arising from the finish of a football match. A greater priority must be to maintain safety on the roads - and the location where this is a real issue is the bus stop outside Falmer Station, where the police can do the vital job of preventing cars pulling into the layby to pick up fans who think that is a convenient location to meet up with their post-match lift-giver. It's a manoeuvre that needs to be prevented, because cars pulling out into a fast-moving stream of trunk road traffic can easily cause a very serious crash.

I don't disagree but strange that even slower buses are allowed to do it?!

 

[severnside gull]

No access direct from A27 Eastbound. You have to go via Coldean and A270 and past the entrance to Stanmer Park.

Bummer!
Massive queues that way so presume we can go up the ramp and round to come off westbound where the entrance to bridge carpark is then enter by going straight across beneath the flyover?

 

[chimneys]

I think you're missing the obvious. The reason the traffic leaving BF can't move is because it is held to give priority to all the P&R buses. That results in either no cars from BF being allowed to reach Village Way, or at best just a trickle. If the BF traffic exited direct on to the roundabout in a completely different way to the buses, there would be no reason for it to be held or delayed. As such, I imagine it would run in the same way as the uni and Bridge car parks do, i.e. there would obviously be a queue, but it would be moving at all times and it would have its own exit route with no obstructions.

Its not just the exiting that causes a problem for the P&R and other buses/coaches. The A27 eastbound offslip up to the roundabout is also pretty much always snarled because of all the BF parkers before every game. On most other roads where there is combined and heavy bus/car traffic, buses have own lanes/priority for obvious reasons. Take away a lot of the BF parking and will ease up access to stadium for the overwhelming majority P&R/bus/coach fans.

 

[Titanic]

Bummer!
Massive queues that way so presume we can go up the ramp and round to come off westbound where the entrance to bridge carpark is then enter by going straight across beneath the flyover?

Always pretty snarled up on the ramps to A27 roundabout by the ground... if you want to take that option (and we sometimes do if the ramp at Hollingdean is rammed) then you need to go down to the next roundabout on A27 (Lewes A277 I think?) - takes about 6 minutes.

 

[severnside gull]

Always pretty snarled up on the ramps to A27 roundabout by the ground... if you want to take that option (and we sometimes do if the ramp at Hollingdean is rammed) then you need to go down to the next roundabout on A27 (Lewes A277 I think?) - takes about 6 minutes.

Yes. We do it sometimes for BF if we are running late and there is a mega queue coming off the A27 by the ground. The queue from Lewes direction is never as bad.