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Common ground hope
Reporter: RICHARD HOOTON
Date online: 20 May 2010
Latics will listen to residents
RESIDENTS are being invited to have their say on Latics’ controversial plans for a £20 million new stadium in Failsworth.
A public exhibition of the proposals will take place at the Lancaster Club on Wednesday, June 2, with residents able to drop in to view the proposals and make comments any time from 3 to 9pm.
The event was originally scheduled for February but had to be cancelled at the last minute. It’s part of the League One club’s bid to consult the public over the 12,000-seater stadium, with community sports facilities, proposed for a 30-acre site off Broadway.
The Boundary Park outfit is sending out 10,000 leaflets to residents nearest the site inviting them along. As well as the sports facilities, other potential developments include a health and fitness centre, restaurants, hotel and cinema.
Latics chief executive Alan Hardy said: “We want to know if people have any other ideas or facilities they want to see on the site.”
A map on the leaflet shows how an electricity pylon, the fact the Lancaster Club is a listed building and a steep sloping ground to one side add a few difficulties to redevelopment. Mr Hardy also revealed that the local elections, which have resulted in a Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition, have not changed the council’s stance on supporting the plans.
The council wants the Charity Commission to deem an area of open land at Lower Failsworth Memorial Park as a trust and then swap it for another site to be redeveloped.
Mr Hardy stressed that the plans do not include the formal part of the memorial park, which includes bowling greens and play area, but scrubland to the south of it.
Campaigners fighting to stop the development say the open land is part of the memorial park — public land protected by a charitable trust.
Comments
I am a local resident of BP area and would advise what happened when Latics held a similar "Open Day" about the £80m redevelopment of BP. The presentation was shabby and lacked detail and 'local activists' hijacked the day discussing land with charitable status. Sounds familiar..
When the council turned down the plan there was a march, not arranged by club but fans, but Latics web site encouraged marchers to show their support.
Probably not a problem now as fans dom't want to go to Failsworth!
Why are many of the people who comment on Chronicle articles so cynical. This is what it says it is, an opportunity for the people of Failsworth to view and comment on the plans. After all, they can't complain if they don't know what they are complaining about can they? And you never know they might have some good ideas and even like the proposed plans.
laticsrblu - history has made us cynical. OldManc is right, public consultation would be a legal requirement, though they are often planned quietly if opposition is expected to be large (eg. minimum publicity, small meeting room, 'plants' in the audience). Why doesn't the club have an official poll of the fans, asking them if they want to move, first?
ammypam, before anyone else, why not conduct an official poll of those who reside near the proposed stadium to see if they want it?
Next, widen it out to include those who live along Broadway and Oldham Road to gauge their opinion as a result of the obvious increase in traffic and pollution on match days.
Neither is feasible, but at least the true feelings of the many, not the few, would be known - or perhaps that's why it wouldn't be so!
Consultation is often about telling, not listening.
Let's hope they get a better turnout than the meeting in Saddleworth, which was reported in the Chron' the other day.
A majority of the people of Failsworth consider themselves Mancunian. They have a Manchester Post code and do not like the fact that their council tax goes to Oldham. Why would Oldhams Football team move to Manchester?
Seems to me that there are an awful lot of people who are against this than for, even outside of Failsworth.Maybe they are more famiolier with the area than the supporters of the stadium.For those who don't really understand, I offer the following. Yes, all the headline issues like noise, pollution, congestion, potential public order problems, devaluation of property etc are all legitimate concerns.But, as much if not more than these, is the effecton the health & quality of life of the residents
Furthermore, there is the insane & hypocritical actions of the Council agreeing to let Latics spend a fortune preparing plans that are highly unlikely to result in the development at all. Where is the sense in offering them land that has been under development for the past 2 years as a future urban country park, which has just been given £5M to speed up its development and is Protected Open Land that Charlie Parker has confirmed to me will need the Sec of States permission for OMBC to depart
from their own policies on protecting green space.
Anybody wanting more information, or having concerns that the Council will "do it to them" or wanting to know where their bit of 'Protected' open land is can email me at jeanpete49@talktalk.net
This offer includes those Watchers & viewers who are, by nature, anti challengers
Like your rationalle Old Boy. I would sooner have you in a debating circle than some of the Watchers of this world.
If you don't mind though, I would like to clarify one thing.It isn't possible to widen it out to Broadway after polling the nearest residents. The estate of 40 houses on Park Ave & Broadway, ARE the nearest houses. Next comes the 400 on the Moston Fairway, who pressed for the Moston Brook regeneration project in the first place in 2006. They equally, & rightly should hav a voice.
fragal, I wasn't referring just to the residents in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site, but those further up Broadway, who will have whatever match day traffic there may be going past their homes as they make their way up and down Broadway, or those going along Oldham Road.
The more people consulted the better, but those on the Fairway, and parts of Broadway, fall in the Manchester catchment area, and will be conveniently forgoten by OMBC - perhaps they can get their cllrs on board!
Old Boy. Moston cllrs have been saying the same as the Oldham ones since the announcement last year. "Leave it to us" but whenever you ssk them what the think about the effects it will have, all they say is " we can't form an opinion till the plans are submitted. Haven't they been to the Latics Roadshow at Boundary Park? Haven't they read the scoping opinion made public on the OMBC website last September? The fact is all the facts I have laid out above tell them all they need and already know.
The Councillors certainly are fully aware of the Moston Brook Project. The Chairman is Paul Murphy of Moston & vice Chair (or maybe Joint Chair is Jim McMahon, Labour Leader & cllr for Failsworth East.
Have Your Say
We all know how good Alan Hardy is at listening to the fans, so I view this with caution. If I were a betting man I would say that this has more to do with planning legislation and the requirement for public consultation rather than a willingness on the club's part.
By Old_Mancunian @ 20/05/2010 15:32:42