Green's blocking Amex expansion plans? Steve Bassam

[KNC]

It's ok to come shopping in the City. As long as you come on a bike. And for those in the west, they are building a nice new cycle lane in the Old Shoreham Road, for you.
It's going to be named Dogma Drive.

 

[DTES]

Like Southern Water, Brighton Aldridge Community Academy doesn't want Albion car parking on its site. BACA is a non-starter.

So you believe Bassam is plain wrong when he says:

"The car park is essential for the the expanded stadium capacity."

Just because reading that has made me nervous...

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Extra stadium capacity will create more jobs, and what do we need at the moment, more jobs.

I really don't want us to go through all this shit again. It was annoying last time.

 

[Dover]

We just have to up the game with Public Transport. Harsh but true.

 

[Mackenzie]

only council in the country refusing to accept money from central government thats being handed out to freeze council tax and deciding instead to put up council tax.

after refusing the money and deciding to put up CT, then deciding to reduce bin collections ....so the only council in the country putting up tax is also cutting public services.

increasing parking prices across the city....exactly what our local businesses need at the moment, dont come shopping or visit brighton if your going to drive!

various moron schemes like trying to make brighton 'the demonstration capital of the uk' ...ahhhh so thats where our council tax is going to go, policing various disruptions to the city and its residents....im sure glad my bins arent being collected now.

i could go on but i have reached maximum anger for typing.

So who voted for all of this?

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Like I said - I thought that long term the car park at BACA was part of the plans.

Why has this suddenly become a 'non-starter'?

 

[vulture]

just vote the f***ing tree huggers out....why people vote for these thunder c unts is beyond me

 

[Marshal Josip Tito]

So basically there is as yet NOTHING to say that the Green Party are against a capacity increase?

You'd expect them to query the transport issue, as that kind of thing is their bread and butter, and it has always been a problem for Falmer.

That doesn't say to me that they're going to outright prevent the stadium from being expanded

 

[The Large One]

So you believe Bassam is plain wrong when he says:

"The car park is essential for the the expanded stadium capacity."

Just because reading that has made me nervous...

I don't know that it's 'essential' though it would have been bloody handy.

Alex Dawson OO OO (or whatever he's called) knows more, but my info about BACA comes from his posts a few months ago.

I was pretty sure a car park at BACA was going ahead, but that BACA are dragging their feet. He was implying that they're not interested. Why not? Who knows? Possibly that they want to use it six days a week...

Someone did mention knocking down some more UoB buildings - whether that has legs or not...?

 

[Billy the Fish]

It makes no political sense for the Greens to block stadium expansion, and the councillors I have spoken to are not against it. They have, however, raised concerns about transport. As have many on here.

I don't what that has to do with anything, but their statement is that they were never against a stadium. They were never necessarily against a stadium at Falmer (though many raised concerns).

So I assume you believed the BNP members when they got elected and told everyone they weren't racist?

 

[The Large One]

only council in the country refusing to accept money from central government thats being handed out to freeze council tax and deciding instead to put up council tax.

Wrong.

after refusing the money and deciding to put up CT, then deciding to reduce bin collections ....so the only council in the country putting up tax is also cutting public services.

Wrong.

increasing parking prices across the city....exactly what our local businesses need at the moment, dont come shopping or visit brighton if your going to drive!

Yes, because they're the only council in the country doing that. Oh, hang on...

various moron schemes like trying to make brighton 'the demonstration capital of the uk' ...ahhhh so thats where our council tax is going to go, policing various disruptions to the city and its residents....im sure glad my bins arent being collected now.

i could go on but i have reached maximum anger for typing.

Maximum anger based on minimum fact. Good one.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Bassam would. I would no more trust a comment on the Greens from Bassam than I would from Geoffrey Theobald. Nor a comment on Labour or the Tories from Bill Randall, and so on.

It makes no political sense for the Greens to block stadium expansion, and the councillors I have spoken to are not against it. They have, however, raised concerns about transport. As have many on here.



I don't what that has to do with anything, but their statement is that they were never against a stadium. They were never necessarily against a stadium at Falmer (though many raised concerns).

Their point at the time, and this is borne out by their statements then was that they didn't like the nuclear option of 'Falmer or nowhere'. They wanted a clear process to be shown that other places had been considered. When the second (or third - I lose count) inquiry took place, they came out and said that 'they would accept the findings of the Inquiry.' And they did.

For someone that usually provides a very balanced and intelligent perspective on all things posted on here you do seem to have a very Green Party biased.

 

[Marshal Josip Tito]

Sorry, this comment about reducing bin collections, is that actually true? When's it due to take affect?

 

[The Large One]

So I assume you believed the BNP members when they got elected and told everyone they weren't racist?

As a response to my post, yours makes no sense. You're going to have to explain it, unless you think (wrongly) that the Green Party has always been anti-stadium.

 

[Common as Mook]

For someone that usually provides a very balanced and intelligent perspective on all things posted on here you do seem to have a very Green Party biased.

I've noticed this too. Shame.

 

[The Large One]

For someone that usually provides a very balanced and intelligent perspective on all things posted on here you do seem to have a very Green Party biased.

I like much of what the Green Party is trying to do. I'm not a member, nor never will be.

However, there is an awful lot of shit written about them on here, so if anything, I'm offering an equal and opposite argument in terms of strength in re-balancing the points of view. The stuff about 'tree-huggers' and 'lentil munchers' is puerile bollocks.

Fact is, I have three Green councillors in my ward, and I do talk to them, especially over things raised on here about the stadium. They have concerns over expansion (as do many of other political persuasions), and are keen for it to be as minimally impactful as possible - doesn't everyone want that? Are they against expansion? Not according to the councillors I speak to.

The party line is - and this is sensible considering they're in control - they want and need the Albion to be a jewel in the city, and that they wish to work well with them.

 

[ManOnTheRun]

I think Bassam is trying to score political points here (i'm not partisan to either Green or Labour here btw). Some of the Green wards were won with tiny majorities in the last election, objecting to this expansion plan would mean curtains for the Greens at the polls next time round.

My view is that the application will be passed at committee but with some very tough stipulations around transport.

That way the Greens can say we passed it and now it's up to the club to meet it's obligations. The problem is that I'm not sure the club will be able to ...

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I was pretty sure a car park at BACA was going ahead,QUOTE]

Your first post on this thread stated that a car park at BACA was a non starter.

I'm confused.

 

[kano]

Wrong.



Wrong.



Yes, because they're the only council in the country doing that. Oh, hang on...




Maximum anger based on minimum fact. Good one.

Oh ok i must have dreamed all these madcap green proposals then......thank god for that!!!

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Lord Bassam put this press release out today...

START

Greens Put Stadium Capacity Growth At Risk and Delay Re-Building of Bridge Community Centre

Former City Leader Lord Bassam has attacked the ruling Green Party decision to stop the provision of much needed Car Parking at BACA and delay the provision of the much needed Bridge Community Centre. Lord Bassam says that the decision on car parking also threatens the Brighton and Hove Albion FC plan to expand capacity at the Amex Stadium.

‘The Green Group running the Council have taken a truly bizarre decision which slows down the provision of the Bridge Community Centre, will cost the Council £1m they haven’t got and threatens to prevent the expansion of the Amex upto 30,000. It also means the Council are in breach of a promise they made when the Ground was being developed.

The Greens never liked the Stadium being built at Falmer and now they are effectively saying no to its expansion for ideological reasons. They don’t like cars and they don’t like Academy Schools.

The football club was promising to demolish the current redundant buildings at BACA and rebuild a new community Centre. Initially with a surface car park and then an underground car park. The 1,000 spaces the car park provides are integral to the football clubs plan to expand capacity at the stadium. It will be harder to get planning approval without adequate additional parking as part of the transport plan.

Like many fans I fought to get the stadium at Falmer and now the Green Party in a fit of ideological pique have taken a decision which threatens to undermine its growing success. The relocation of ALBION to the Amex has been the best thing to happen in the City for decades and has worked wonders for jobs and opportunities for local people. The Green Party don’t understand the need for its expansion. Many of us want to see premiership football in our City clearly they don’t. In my view this is not only a terrible decision for the club and the city but manifestly a Bonkers decision which the Greens would be well advised to reverse asap.

I cannot believe that they have taken the financially irresponsible decision to spend £1m that they don’t have at a time when they are cutting services and putting up Council tax. There is no reasonable justification for this decision. Labour warned that the Greens would not work to the City’s best interest and this decision is evidence of that warning.’

Background Information.
The stadium capacity needs to grow and was always planned. In backing the stadium Labour recognised the need for growth. The club has achieved a remarkable 68% of fans arriving by public transport at the stadium. But it does need car parking spaces for some of the additional fans that capacity growth will mean.

END