Friends of the Earth
Action Briefing June /July 1999
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Birmingham Friends of the Earth Action Briefing June /July 1999 |
Back in June 1998, the draft Aston Local Plan was issued, containing Aston Villa FC's proposals to increase the capacity of Villa Park by about 10,000 to over 50,000 by extending the Trinity Road stand and diverting Trinity Road into Aston Park.
The consultation exercise brought a massive objection to the proposals, resulting in a number of amendments being made to the Local Plan aimed at protecting Aston Park and moderating the impact of the increased seating capacity on the area.
In April 1999 Aston Villa finally put forward their plans for the ground expansion. No longer was Trinity Road to be diverted into the park, the new stand was to be cantilevered over the top of it now, with only the supporting pillars encroaching on the park. A Sustainable Transport Plan was drafted to deal with the extra 10,000 supporters that would be attracted to the ground.
The club thought that they had answered the local objections, but they underestimated the depth of feeling against the club in the local community. On Sunday 9th May 500 people packed out a public meeting at Broadway School in Perry Bar, all apparently opposing the plans. This was not a meeting about details, the themes were big: no trust in the football club, the club has no awareness of the multi-ethnic community that is Aston, residents feel like prisoners in their own homes on match days, keep off Aston Park, give residents back their streets, and create jobs for the locals.
On Friday 14th May, at a meeting of the Ground Development and Environmental Working Group, some of the finer details were discussed. The main theme being the club's Sustainable Transport Plan, which aims to increase the amount of supporters using public transport from the current level of 14% to 25%. This would be achieved by a combination of incentive measures such as subsidised bus and train travel for supporters, integrated public transport an match ticketing, Park and Ride facilities and secure cycle parking with safe cycle access to the ground.
So should we be supporting the Club's proposals? It is easy to be persuaded that Aston Villa FC have made concessions, but have they really? If the plans are passed the club will get their ground extension, but the stand will still encroach onto Aston Park, mature trees will still be chopped down (including a 200 year old Sweet Chestnut) and Aston Hall will still be affected. Even allowing for the increase in public transport usage to 25% there will still be around 4000 more supporters travelling to the ground by car. This is traffic generation, and should not be tolerated in today's transport climate. So who is making concessions?
The only solution to the problem is the one demanded by the residents, and that is to introduce Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) in the streets around the ground on match days. This would force people to leave their cars at home and use the transport alternatives that the club is introducing. Unfortunately the Club will not commit themselves to this because they do not really want to stop their supporters from parking near to the ground. The problem, as the local residents are well aware, is that the club don't really care at all about the local environment and community as long as they get their way and their new stand.