Council Backtracks On Replacement Ground for Newbury FC, who cares if Newbury have played in Faraday Road since 1887! Options

[Andy Capp]

'LOL'

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/news/15...html?refresh_ce

[motormad]

they want us out so they can build flats, I think it’s disgusting.

Aint that the truth
WTF is NTC doing.

[Berkshirelad]

Aint that the truth
WTF is NTC doing.

NTC is doing what it usually does - nothing of any use.

This furore is WBC - and I know that there is a lot of 'overlap' in terms of members...

[Cognosco]

NTC is doing what it usually does - nothing of any use.

This furore is WBC - and I know that there is a lot of 'overlap' in terms of members...

Developers to keep sweet........Money to be made........staff pension pots to be kept up.......Land to be given away.......us plebs just do not realise the problems our Councils have you know?

[spartacus]

Yeah but who really watches them? seriously.... Two men and a dog? Three maybe, at a push?

Any idea what the attendance figures have been for recent games? Are the figures sustainable and do they provide enough income to even pay to keep the floodlights on? (Newbury Blues were struggling with keeping their bills paid when they tumbled down the leagues)

It's alright complaining but do you go and watch them yourself?


I’ve never been to watch but I don’t imagine the turnstiles are being spun off their hinges with the crowds flocking in.... ...and I don’t imagine the standard of play is any different from many pub teams (and even they are dying on their feet)

In 1887 the good folk of Newbury turned up to watch because TV hadn’t been invented and it was something to do before the pubs opened and they could have a game of crib. These days ‘Grass roots football’ has to be a real community thing to compete with all the other distractions. As Newbury RFC found when they were competing at the highest level (well not QUITE into the Premiership but the next level down), getting Newbury folk to turn up to local sports events is a real struggle.

Football is a business and if Newbury FC cannot support itself then why should WBC subsidise it? The next round of Council cuts are to be announced in November. Several million pounds are being cut again.. Should the Council choose to support Newbury FC or should they be thinking more about the services to all residents their cuts may be affecting? If it's such a major issue Newbury should be applying for a slice of all that Sky money that's sloshing around in the game. But then I don't suppose even the football authorities would support a dead duck...

[spartacus]

...........and I hope Newbury RFC don’t consider that ground sharing with the football club is a feasible solution. They wouldn’t hear the last of it if they did....Every game the football club lose would be blamed on the big nasty rugby boys chewing up the surface and making divots.... It was Oxford United fans biggest moan when London Welsh relocated from Richmond and with the constant drip, drip of dripping foul mouthed footie fans it was probably a relief for Welsh fans when they moved back to Richmond this season..

[On the edge]

Yeah but who really watches them? seriously.... Two men and a dog? Three maybe, at a push?

Any idea what the attendance figures have been for recent games? Are the figures sustainable and do they provide enough income to even pay to keep the floodlights on? (Newbury Blues were struggling with keeping their bills paid when they tumbled down the leagues)

It's alright complaining but do you go and watch them yourself?


I’ve never been to watch but I don’t imagine the turnstiles are being spun off their hinges with the crowds flocking in.... ...and I don’t imagine the standard of play is any different from many pub teams (and even they are dying on their feet)

In 1887 the good folk of Newbury turned up to watch because TV hadn’t been invented and it was something to do before the pubs opened and they could have a game of crib. These days ‘Grass roots football’ has to be a real community thing to compete with all the other distractions. As Newbury RFC found when they were competing at the highest level (well not QUITE into the Premiership but the next level down), getting Newbury folk to turnM up to local sports events is a real struggle.

Football is a business and if Newbury FC cannot support itself then why should WBC subsidise it? The next round of Council cuts are to be announced in November. Several million pounds are being cut again.. Should the Council choose to support Newbury FC or should they be thinking more about the services to all residents their cuts may be affecting? If it's such a major issue Newbury should be applying for a slice of all that Sky money that's sloshing around in the game. But then I don't suppose even the football authorities would support a dead duck...

I'd agree with all that. Arguably, if the Football Club is as wanted and successful as it's said to be, what's wrong with the supporters setting up a self managed community venture themselves? There is no reason why they couldn't buy and run their own ground, in fact, they'd probably be able to secure grants and funds, particularly from the rather rich FA.

[user23]

I'd agree with all that. Arguably, if the Football Club is as wanted and successful as it's said to be, what's wrong with the supporters setting up a self managed community venture themselves? There is no reason why they couldn't buy and run their own ground, in fact, they'd probably be able to secure grants and funds, particularly from the rather rich FA.

There's many examples of trust owned clubs so you're right, if this is something the local people want there's a tried and tested way to achieve it themselves.

[x2lls]

There's many examples of trust owned clubs so you're right, if this is something the local people want there's a tried and tested way to achieve it themselves.

Much like running a 'community' allotment..

[user23]

Much like running a 'community' allotment..

There's nothing to stop local people buying up land for use as community allotment either is there?

[Andy Capp]

Like smoky VDubs, it is the apparent slight of hand that is offensive, not necessarily the dead.

I'm sure he is a decent regular Joe, but the WBC CEO epitomises all that I despise in politics and authority.

[On the edge]

There's nothing to stop local people buying up land for use as community allotment either is there?

You are quite right, I suppose given the parish level councils have a statutory duty to provide them, the land should be easier to procure. However, and I'm guessing here, it takes a few motivated people to do that. At the moment, there is no threat to the local allotments, so as usual apathy rules and why disturb the status quo, so allotmenteers by nature being quiet people in the main aren't likely to change. I wonder how different that would be if the Council started to realise the development value of the land?

[On the edge]

Like smoky VDubs, it is the apparent slight of hand that is offensive, not necessarily the dead.

I'm sure he is a decent regular Joe, but the WBC CEO epitomises all that I despise in politics and authority.

Can't disagree with that! He should have gone for the Election debacle as well.

[Simon Kirby]

There's nothing to stop a community allotment either is there?

Local people buying up land for use as allotments.

It hasn't happened very often that communities have had to buy allotment land because often it's been gifted to the community (my own site for example at Wash Common was gifted to the Community for allotments in 1858, five years before the formation of the Football Association), but plenty of communities have indeed used the powers of the 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act to buy land for allotments, and as I've mentioned before, allotments are the only actual service that a parish council is positively required to provide. Of course the parish council has access to the Borough Council's powers of compulsory purchase at the going rate for the present purpose and it also has access to the Public Works Loan Board so it's a simple matter for a community to afford to buy and complete the purchase on allotment land.

However, other than through their local parish council it's pretty much impossible for a community to acquire land for allotments because 1. land-owners won't lease the land, 2. if they are willing to lease it the rent is unaffordable, and 3. it's generally beyond the capacity of a lose community group to lease/purchase an allotment site from scratch.

Parish councils have the power to buy land for football pitches and they can borrow from the PWLB to do so, though I don't off the top of my head know if they can require the Borough Council to use their powers of compulsory purchase, but for the sake of argument lets assume that the parish council can indeed buy land for football pitches, the questions would be whether it was the right thing to do.

I think if a decent local semi-pro team didn't have the capacity to organise the letting/purchase of a suitable ground then it probably would be appropriate for the parish council to facilitate it if it could be more or less cost-neutral for the parish.

I don't see how WBC should take any responsibility for finding the club a new home.

[Andy Capp]

I don't see how WBC should take any responsibility for finding the club a new home.

I think there is a moral duty when the club is being 'evicted', but the real story for me is the language of the CEO.

[On the edge]

I think there is a moral duty when the club are being 'evicted', but the real story for me is the language of the CEO.

Morals, like integrity aren't natural attributes for our beloved Council. There is absolutely no reason why the Supporters Ward Councillors aren't bring lobbied to support the cause. After all, it was the people of Greenham who wanted the Control Tower, apparently. Their silence is telling, perhaps their own reading of electoral opinion suggests there is no support. I'd certainly agree that WBC could have been rather more positive with its advice and suggested a Trust. They do have Councillors, past and present who are well into local voluntary type organisations who could offer practical advice.

[Exhausted]

Morals, like integrity aren't natural attributes for our beloved Council. There is absolutely no reason why the Supporters Ward Councillors aren't bring lobbied to support the cause. After all, it was the people of Greenham who wanted the Control Tower, apparently. Their silence is telling, perhaps their own reading of electoral opinion suggests there is no support. I'd certainly agree that WBC could have been rather more positive with its advice and suggested a Trust. They do have Councillors, past and present who are well into local voluntary type organisations who could offer practical advice.

I think you will find that lobbying councillors will almost certainly have a zero effect. If you ask a technical question of a councillor, the reply always involves a second hand reply from the council officers. When pressed, it is usually rebuffed by the old "Council Policy" excuse. Most of the councillors, it seems to me, are only in it for the nice remuneration for the job and the self esteem they get from having the title and seeing their name in the local rag. Very rarely do they buck the party line so the old boys and girls on the council decide, in collusion with the top 'officers', what is needed and that is passed down to the nodding donkeys at the meeting. You can bet that the council officers were embarrassed about the control tower change of use so the councillors were given the nod to approve despite the application rejection proposal. The former couldn't recommend approval as it would have meant that they didn't support the jobsworths in the BBOWT, more or less one of their own departments.

[blackdog]

You can bet that the council officers were embarrassed about the control tower change of use so the councillors were given the nod to approve despite the application rejection proposal.

I'm pretty sure that was not the case - I think the councillors were much entertained by being able to put the planning officer on the spot. Whatever you might believe many councillors seem fed up with doing what the planners tell them and frustrated with their lack of power to decide anything.

[Exhausted]

I'm pretty sure that was not the case - I think the councillors were much entertained by being able to put the planning officer on the spot. Whatever you might believe many councillors seem fed up with doing what the planners tell them and frustrated with their lack of power to decide anything.

Perhaps but the various departments in WBC do not seem to be joined up and whilst I agree with your last sentence, if they, the councillors, lack the power why bother with them. In general, they are almost bound to follow the lead of the planning department because if they don't there will be legal problems and costs involved with appeals. In the case of the tower, there would not be any legal ramifications so for once, they could reverse the decision with impunity and they did.

That however will not stop the planning application for the Faraday road site when it appears, getting WBC to go along with it by kicking out the football club. Because the ground is leased and is not part of a park then there is no obligation on the part of the council, if the lease has expired, to find an alternative and if the football club wish to continue as a club, like the rugby club then they will have to start looking for public subscription. They could get some pressure applied by the UK playing fields association but that's up to the club to pursue.

The proposals for the area that we have seen so far are a bit vague and just show a boundary with cross hatching covering the area. How much of the land is owned by WBC and leased, how much is in private ownership, I have no idea but it would be nice to know. If they want the whole area then there will be some heavyweights to kick out. Ridgeway Audi, Eden Vauxhall, the Newbury Weekly News printing press to name a few. So far, the only bit I see for which there is an application which has the go ahead because it is what WBC want and has some external funding, is the entrance road off the A339.

If the council does own the lease for the estate in total, as they may, and the whole lot is cleared for their vanity project, the implication has some severe impact for the town's prosperity as it is not "Fred in his shed" or quick set up Car washes that will be involved. I for one will be interested to see what manoeuvers the council try to get away with especially with compulsory purchase. At one time a CPO only applied to road building but we saw in Parkway this happening for development purposes didn't we. I wonder which line the NWN will take in the event they become a subject of a CPO.

[On the edge]

If only Blackdog! From where I'm sitting it looked more like a school playground fight. Sir, Sir, he's nicked my pencil case......no I 'avent he's ripped my Maths Book....Sir, Sir...

In effect, GPC were applying for something they already had, and would have known about if only they talked to each other. The planners hadn't picked that up either, presumably because what with numeracy training, they were too tired to look at the records.

And so the farce goes on! Anyway, I suppose this even more underlines the suggestion that the Football Club need an independent trust to procure its own ground. Keep the Council out of it; ad my old dad used to say they couldn't run a public toilet.(oh no, even that's true now!!!)