Update on the 2000 seats...

[Citrus]

... from Martin Perry!

We have been progressing the additional seats but have come up against two planning hurdles which we are trying to overcome. The first is a threat by a local resident to pursue a Judicial Review of the "minded to grant permission by the Council. This has meant that we have had to get the Section 106 Planning Agreement in place before any work commences on the project. We are very close to reaching an agreement on this and hopefully this will put an end to this threat.

Secondly however we also need to agree with the Council the location of a third park and ride site for supporters. The site has been located but we need to go through a complex process to get this approved. There is little point in us proceeding with the seats if we cannot use them so we must get over this hurdle before we spend any money on putting them in. We hope this matter will be cleared by the end of the year. If we succeed we can then start work early in the new year. But it all depends on this additional park and ride site.

It is very frustrating but the opponents to Withdean are using every trick in the book to frustrate our attempts to put in more seats and this has had the effect of slowing us down.

 

[Josky]

These Withdean NIMBYs are soooo stupid. They don't realise they are shooting themselves in the foot.

If we had 8000 each week, surely the case for a permanent home at falmer becomes even clearer and the demand is there for more capacity.

By blocking this, they are basically digging their own grave, by not making the Falmer proposition look favourable.

And if we don't get Falmer... our permanent home will become Withdean.

Now they REALLY wouldn't like that, would they?

 

[Mr C]

It's getting to the point where we may as well not even bother. FFS in three years' time we'll have Falmer anyway so it hardly seems worth it

 

[Citrus]

It will be worth it, for the slightly improved atmosphere and Withdean looking kind of like a 'football ground'!

 

[Josky]

We should bother. We need to get as many people, especially kids watching the albion as soon as possible before Falmer to build up our extended fan base.

More fans, more merchandising (Brighton do that, don't they?) means more money and better players!

 

[Mr C]

We should bother. We need to get as many people, especially kids watching the albion as soon as possible before Falmer to build up our extended fan base.

More fans, more merchandising (Brighton do that, don't they?) means more money and better players!

Yeah I guess it will be worth it in the end but it just seems that with all the different processes we have to go through...couret orders, applications, permission, park & ride, NIMBYs, more applications, delays etc etc etc....I just reckon the 2000 seats will be ready just as we're moving in to Falmer!

 

[sherriffbart]

of course if those selfish bastards who are parking around the ground where it specifically says you shouldn't would heed the restrictions, then the residents would not have too much to complain about

 

[Brovion]

of course if those selfish bastards who are parking around the ground where it specifically says you shouldn't would heed the restrictions, then the residents would not have too much to complain about

That is so true. My mum knows some Withdean residents. They were 'passively opposed' to us moving to Withdean, i.e. they didn't want it but they didn't get off their arses enough to make trouble for us. They say the situation on matchdays has 'slowly got worse' so now they are actively opposed to the extra seats, 2000 more cars is how they see it.

Josky: You have a point but the opposite is also true. By questioning and fighting every single thing the club want to do the residents are proving that Withdean is totally the wrong location for a football club and we'll never be accepted.

 

[Storer68]

I thought we had abandoned thiese seast as too edpensive to put in - well, not the seasts themselves but all the ancillary work that would surround them going in - more turnstiles, moving the sponsors portakabin, getting a new park and ride set up and running, and all for what.....

an extra set of seats that would only bring us extra revenue for about 40 or so games (assuming Falmer gets the nod and we're in there around 2005)

 

[Titanic]

More realistically, Falmer will be ready for August 2006 at the earliest - so even if it's done in the summer, it will still be for whole two seasons - which was MP's break point.

 

[Aspinal's Body Double]

I seem to remember Martin Perry:

a) Saying all this before. The legal move from the resident came at least 6 months ago didn't it?

b) Saying the cost of the seats was £1 million (which I found hard to imagine). I seem to remember him saying it would therefore take 18 months for them to repay the investment?

 

[Titanic]

It not just seats... it also includes moving the players facilities and hospitality etc... into new buildings at the west end of the ground.

 

[Josky]

Josky: You have a point but the opposite is also true. By questioning and fighting every single thing the club want to do the residents are proving that Withdean is totally the wrong location for a football club and we'll never be accepted.

I can see it from their point of view. It looks as though BHA are gradually settling into withdean and if we haven't got Falmer, then as a resident I would be concerned that Brighton would be permanently situated there.

I can totally see your point Brovian - where to go from here is going to be difficult, but it's really annoying why these people can't help put their efforts into helping achieve Falmer rather than the negative 'stop brighton'.