City Council Planning Committee Webcast

[Lord Bracknell]

If anyone wants to spend an hour and three-quarters watching the debate at the City Council on the Racecourse Park & Ride planning application, it's available on the webcast here:-

Planning Committee

Some highlights and details:-

The Council wants to discourage access to the Racecourse via Bear Road - use Elm Grove instead. The Club will encourage supporters to avoid Bear Road. Similarly, supporters will be discouraged from using Woodingdean Crossroads.

Travel Vouchers will be REQUIRED to use Park & Ride - and will be collected at the entrance to the car parking areas. Walk Up and Ride will also be permitted. Cycle parking will be available at the Racecourse.

The site will be open for two and half hours before kick-off and is expected to be cleared two and a half hours after the final whistle.

Concerns about "overspill parking" in nearby streets were the reason for restricting planning permission to two years. The situation will be monitored through the Transport Management Group.

The Falmer Academy was not prepared to agree to the use of their site for parking - although a small amount of parking has been agreed on the access road to the Academy site. The possible future use of land next to the Academy site will be discussed between the Club and the City Council.

Southern Water were asked by the Club on four occasions to allow their car park to be used for matchday parking. On each occasion they refused.

The planning application was submitted late, because the Club did not realise that planning permission was needed.

When the Racecourse site becomes full, traffic will be re-directed to Mithras House. The Club will discourage overspill parking on nearby streets.

The Transport Management Plan was expected to be completed months ago. It has still not been approved by the Council.

Southern Rail have only agreed in the past week to run extra trains.

The argument that Park & Ride is not "sustainable transport" was refuted by Martin Perry arguing that it was designed to avoid congestion elsewhere.

The Green's Transport Spokesperson wants to see a "genuinely sustainable" transport strategy developed over the next two years.

Two amendments were passed - the planning permission will be temporary for two years; the Club and Falmer Academy / Southern Water are urged to reach agreement on future use of those sites for matchday parking.

Detailed operational problems will be looked at carefully by the Transport Management Group.

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

The Transport Management Plan was expected to be completed months ago. It has still not been approved by the Council.

Err, is this needed for games to go ahead?

Possible reason for the lack of ticket information for the ramp up games?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Err, is this needed for games to go ahead?

Possible reason for the lack of ticket information for the ramp up games?

It's a condition of the planning permission for the stadium that it is approved by the Council before the stadium comes into use.

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

It's a condition of the planning permission for the stadium that it is approved by the Council before the stadium comes into use.

So in essence, yes.

In fact, surely anyone on site is trespassing...?

 

[Billy the Fish]

Err, is this needed for games to go ahead?

Possible reason for the lack of ticket information for the ramp up games?

We must be approaching brown trouser territory if that hasn't been done yet.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

So in essence, yes.

In fact, surely anyone on site is trespassing...?

Or, at the very least, offside.

The referee can always show a red card to EVERYONE.

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

Something doesn't smell right, and it's not the contents of my gritts. I'm becoming increasingly worried by the club's stock line of 'information will be released in due course'. I've previously been happy to stick my fingers in my ears and say "la la la, I can't hear you. It's going to be fine.". Might be time to fake them out...

 

[Notters]

Time to stop paying out water bills until southern water sort themselves out

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Nice one LB, much more succinct than any summary of mine would have been.

Just one point I'd like to add about the preparation, submission and approval of the Transport Management Plan. The revised Planning Consent for the stadium that BHCC granted in spring 2009 requires, as do the "Prescott" and "Blears" approvals, that the club submits a TMP to the local planning authority and that this be approved in writing before the stadium can be brought into use. A number of councillors commented during yesterday's meeting that their papers referred to the TMP as only being available as a draft and even this plan wasn't provided. Ian Davey, the Green Party's Transport Spokesman, took this further and advised that the council had requested months ago that final plan be submitted; actually, the Council's Officers requested last year that a final plan be submitted for consideration/approval at least SIX months before the stadium was due to open.

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

How long would it take to put the seats back into the south stand at Withdean...?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

How long would it take to put the seats back into the south stand at Withdean...?

Interestingly, I think the Club's planning consent for the Theatre of Trees expires in about 52 minutes.

 

[Scotty Mac]

first game of the season at the keepmoat then?

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

Realistically how quickly can the TMP be approved once submitted?

 

[Gwylan]

I
When the Racecourse site becomes full, traffic will be re-directed to Mithras House. The Club will discourage overspill parking on nearby streets.

What does that mean? Are they going to stewards hanging around Coombe Road and Natal Road? Sounds a bit extreme

The argument that Park & Ride is not "sustainable transport" was refuted by Martin Perry arguing that it was designed to avoid congestion elsewhere.

The Green's Transport Spokesperson wants to see a "genuinely sustainable" transport strategy developed over the next two years.

And what does this mean? If P&R is not sustainable transport, what is? As previous threads have made clear, there's a physical limit to the number of people that can be carried by train, so what sustainable transport is there? Are there going to 5,000 bike racks outside the Amex? The place will look like Beijing.

The Club and Southern Water are urged to reach agreement on future use of those sites for matchday parking.

How? The club don't need much urging if they've asked four times. But if SW don't want to, they don't want to. That seems a particularly dumb motion to pass.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

I know this has probably been said, but WHY, after 10+++ YEARS of planning this are we STILL going through planning apps etc. This feels very, very last minute.