The anti-falmer webpage has published-
Falmer Replies
Frequently reporters covering the proposed Falmer Stadium issue in the media show little detailed knowledge of the planning issues and arguments involved. They tend to merely repeat often inaccurate rhetoric used by the football club and its supporters. Much of this has been heard and challenged at the inquiry and has failed to impress a planning inspector who deals in facts.
Such rhetoric, without any cautionary balance concerning the difficulties facing applications for major developments in the AONB, has raised fans expectations of the virtual certainty of success of the Falmer Stadium application. Now one inquiry inspector has found the local plan stadium element to be unacceptable. We await the stadium inquiry inspectors report.
In this scenario it is time that fans stopped trying to shoot the messenger because they don’t like the message, and instead concentrate on those who wrote the message. B&H Albion directors and senior B&H councillors knew that the Falmer site was very small, initially only eight acres site, in a protected AONB. They were aware of much bigger alternative sites with lesser degrees of planning protection, but decided to take a risky and expensive gamble, to try and force through the planning system a massive stadium development on farmland AONB at Falmer.
The answers below from Falmer Parish Council to some of the rhetoric used by the club and its supporters indicate why that gamble may fail :
1. B&H Albion – The Local Plan inspector in refusing a stadium at Falmer is denying B&H a stadium.
Falmer PC – The inspector is not denying a stadium for B&H but is stating, after hearing all the evidence and visiting the alternative sites, that Falmer is not the appropriate place. There are alternative sites. If Falmer didn’t exist an alternative would have already been found.
2. B&H Albion – B&H Albions survival in the Football League is in the national interest.
Falmer PC – Not so. Many towns and cities exist quite well without a football league club. Clubs are relegated from the football league and replaced by clubs from the feeder leagues every season, under league rules. No claim of national interest or any other interest is allowed from any relegated club.
There has been virtually no coverage of the B&H stadium issue in the national media, It is not of national interest and it has raised little interest outside immediate football circles.
3. B&H Albion – B&H Albion cannot survive financially at the Withdean Stadium.
Falmer PC – Withdean currently has nearly 7,000 seats and will have 9,000 next season. Capacity there could be increased still further, or even a new stadium built. At least 19 or 20 clubs in the Football League operate on crowds of less than 8,000, often considerably less. The Albion are taking over the Ecovert contract at Withdean this year which will bring them in extra income. As the inspector indicated the club can certainly survive at Withdean and have the option to seek a new alternative site.
4. B&H Albion – If B&H Albion fell out of the Football League a large area of the south coast would be without a Football League club.
Falmer PC – Evidence in the form of maps showing the location of Football League clubs was presented at the inquiry. These showed that clubs are not located evenly to serve areas of population but have been located historically by accident and the vagueries of the league’s relegation and promotion rules. We have indicated above that if the Albion, or any other club, were relegated under these rules no consideration would be given by the Football League to national interest, location, or any other issue..
5. B&H Albion – Without B&H Albion the local economy would suffer significantly.
Falmer PC – This is completely unfounded. B&H economic records were presented at the inquiry that showed when B&H Albion were ground sharing at Gillingham there was no impact on the B&H economy. University projects were also shown to indicate there was no evidence of economic benefits to local communities from a stadium. The inspector at the Arsenal stadium inquiry also confirmed that no evidence of stadium linked economic benefits existed and that many large football clubs were sited in areas of extreme deprivation with no apparent local benefit.
6. B&H Albion – John Prescott should ignore the Local Plan inspector’s report on the Falmer Stadium proposals and instead listen to football fans.
Falmer PC - Why should John Prescott ignore the advice of an independent, professional inspector who is familiar with related planning policies, has seen and heard the evidence from all sides and has visited and inspected all the alternative sites - for the views of uninformed football fans. Many do not live in the Brighton area, many do not know Falmer or the alternative sites, are unfamiliar with national, local or structure plan policies , and have seen or heard none of the evidence from any of the parties to the inquiry. !
7. B&H Albion – B&H could lose its labour MPs if a stadium at Falmer is not allowed.
Falmer PC – This is a serious attempt to politicise the Falmer issue and the planning system. It is a discredit to those, including some B&H MPs, who are suggesting it. Football fans vastly overestimate their influence on local or national elections and have tried this sort of blackmail unsuccessfully before. In the 2003 B&H local elections the Labour Party, who have been blind supporters of a stadium at Falmer, lost many seats and their control of the council. The Green Party, who oppose a stadium at Falmer, won a record number of seats. Local and national electors, many not interested in football, have many more serious concerns, council tax, reductions in local services, hospitals, education, Iraq war, pensions etc.
8. B&H Albion – Falmer is the only possible site. Other sites all have problems.
Falmer PC – The Falmer site also has many problems but B&H Albion have sought solutions there (often expensive), but not at the alternative sites.
It has been demonstrated at the inquiry that the alternative site survey, the referendum and site selection process were seriously flawed.
Falmer PC members have visited a number of new stadiums around the country and researched many new stadiums and related football issues. The PC also carried out its own survey of the alternative sites in B&H showing there are alternatives. It was shown at the inquiry that six out of eight new stadiums built in the last ten years do not have a railway station nearby and many have no better transport access than many of the alternative B&H sites. Many of the alternative B&H sites are much larger than Falmer and would allow wider community and commercial enabling development. No enabling development is possible at Falmer making it financially high risk.
9. B&H Albion – The Local Plan Inspector has ignored the clubs evidence for the Falmer site and local needs and problems.
Falmer PC - The inspector has ignored nothing. He has heard all the evidence presented by the club and has visited and inspected all alternative sites. Much of the evidence by the club was challenged by opponents as being inaccurate or unfounded. The inspector then drew his own conclusions referring to the planning policies and restrictions that exist.
10. B&H Albion – If the Falmer site is refused B&H Albion will disappear and all its good work in the community will be lost.
Falmer PC – Both of these claims are untrue. We have indicated earlier that B&H Albion, even at Withdean, have the same prospects of survival as many other football league clubs.
Also, many towns and communities in the UK do not have a Football League club but junior football and sports in those areas, and the community, survive without them. Junior sports country wide are in the main maintained by committed parents and non league and amateur clubs, without help from professional clubs.
In educational terms Brighton has many academic institutions, including schools, colleges and two universities all serving the community and capable of delivering educational, IT and other training to all ages.
There is a failing media college at Sheepcote Valley threatened with closure. Perhaps a stadium located there, with very direct links to the college would help maintain it to serve the community again ?.
All of these claims by B&H Albion, and many others, have been aired thoroughly and challenged at the public inquiries. Opponents to the Falmer Stadium proposals have also pointed out serious flaws in the club’s planning application in areas like alternative sites, transport, access, parking, environmental and landscape impact and the financial stability of a stadium without other enabling development. It is now up to independent, professional planning, inspectors to report their findings to the Secretary of State and for him to make a decision on the planning issues, unaffected by the often unfounded rhetoric or political blackmail now being employed by B&H Albion via post inquiry lobbying of John Prescott, outside the planning process and untested at a public inquiry.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT WE RETALIATE
Falmer Replies
Frequently reporters covering the proposed Falmer Stadium issue in the media show little detailed knowledge of the planning issues and arguments involved. They tend to merely repeat often inaccurate rhetoric used by the football club and its supporters. Much of this has been heard and challenged at the inquiry and has failed to impress a planning inspector who deals in facts.
Such rhetoric, without any cautionary balance concerning the difficulties facing applications for major developments in the AONB, has raised fans expectations of the virtual certainty of success of the Falmer Stadium application. Now one inquiry inspector has found the local plan stadium element to be unacceptable. We await the stadium inquiry inspectors report.
In this scenario it is time that fans stopped trying to shoot the messenger because they don’t like the message, and instead concentrate on those who wrote the message. B&H Albion directors and senior B&H councillors knew that the Falmer site was very small, initially only eight acres site, in a protected AONB. They were aware of much bigger alternative sites with lesser degrees of planning protection, but decided to take a risky and expensive gamble, to try and force through the planning system a massive stadium development on farmland AONB at Falmer.
The answers below from Falmer Parish Council to some of the rhetoric used by the club and its supporters indicate why that gamble may fail :
1. B&H Albion – The Local Plan inspector in refusing a stadium at Falmer is denying B&H a stadium.
Falmer PC – The inspector is not denying a stadium for B&H but is stating, after hearing all the evidence and visiting the alternative sites, that Falmer is not the appropriate place. There are alternative sites. If Falmer didn’t exist an alternative would have already been found.
2. B&H Albion – B&H Albions survival in the Football League is in the national interest.
Falmer PC – Not so. Many towns and cities exist quite well without a football league club. Clubs are relegated from the football league and replaced by clubs from the feeder leagues every season, under league rules. No claim of national interest or any other interest is allowed from any relegated club.
There has been virtually no coverage of the B&H stadium issue in the national media, It is not of national interest and it has raised little interest outside immediate football circles.
3. B&H Albion – B&H Albion cannot survive financially at the Withdean Stadium.
Falmer PC – Withdean currently has nearly 7,000 seats and will have 9,000 next season. Capacity there could be increased still further, or even a new stadium built. At least 19 or 20 clubs in the Football League operate on crowds of less than 8,000, often considerably less. The Albion are taking over the Ecovert contract at Withdean this year which will bring them in extra income. As the inspector indicated the club can certainly survive at Withdean and have the option to seek a new alternative site.
4. B&H Albion – If B&H Albion fell out of the Football League a large area of the south coast would be without a Football League club.
Falmer PC – Evidence in the form of maps showing the location of Football League clubs was presented at the inquiry. These showed that clubs are not located evenly to serve areas of population but have been located historically by accident and the vagueries of the league’s relegation and promotion rules. We have indicated above that if the Albion, or any other club, were relegated under these rules no consideration would be given by the Football League to national interest, location, or any other issue..
5. B&H Albion – Without B&H Albion the local economy would suffer significantly.
Falmer PC – This is completely unfounded. B&H economic records were presented at the inquiry that showed when B&H Albion were ground sharing at Gillingham there was no impact on the B&H economy. University projects were also shown to indicate there was no evidence of economic benefits to local communities from a stadium. The inspector at the Arsenal stadium inquiry also confirmed that no evidence of stadium linked economic benefits existed and that many large football clubs were sited in areas of extreme deprivation with no apparent local benefit.
6. B&H Albion – John Prescott should ignore the Local Plan inspector’s report on the Falmer Stadium proposals and instead listen to football fans.
Falmer PC - Why should John Prescott ignore the advice of an independent, professional inspector who is familiar with related planning policies, has seen and heard the evidence from all sides and has visited and inspected all the alternative sites - for the views of uninformed football fans. Many do not live in the Brighton area, many do not know Falmer or the alternative sites, are unfamiliar with national, local or structure plan policies , and have seen or heard none of the evidence from any of the parties to the inquiry. !
7. B&H Albion – B&H could lose its labour MPs if a stadium at Falmer is not allowed.
Falmer PC – This is a serious attempt to politicise the Falmer issue and the planning system. It is a discredit to those, including some B&H MPs, who are suggesting it. Football fans vastly overestimate their influence on local or national elections and have tried this sort of blackmail unsuccessfully before. In the 2003 B&H local elections the Labour Party, who have been blind supporters of a stadium at Falmer, lost many seats and their control of the council. The Green Party, who oppose a stadium at Falmer, won a record number of seats. Local and national electors, many not interested in football, have many more serious concerns, council tax, reductions in local services, hospitals, education, Iraq war, pensions etc.
8. B&H Albion – Falmer is the only possible site. Other sites all have problems.
Falmer PC – The Falmer site also has many problems but B&H Albion have sought solutions there (often expensive), but not at the alternative sites.
It has been demonstrated at the inquiry that the alternative site survey, the referendum and site selection process were seriously flawed.
Falmer PC members have visited a number of new stadiums around the country and researched many new stadiums and related football issues. The PC also carried out its own survey of the alternative sites in B&H showing there are alternatives. It was shown at the inquiry that six out of eight new stadiums built in the last ten years do not have a railway station nearby and many have no better transport access than many of the alternative B&H sites. Many of the alternative B&H sites are much larger than Falmer and would allow wider community and commercial enabling development. No enabling development is possible at Falmer making it financially high risk.
9. B&H Albion – The Local Plan Inspector has ignored the clubs evidence for the Falmer site and local needs and problems.
Falmer PC - The inspector has ignored nothing. He has heard all the evidence presented by the club and has visited and inspected all alternative sites. Much of the evidence by the club was challenged by opponents as being inaccurate or unfounded. The inspector then drew his own conclusions referring to the planning policies and restrictions that exist.
10. B&H Albion – If the Falmer site is refused B&H Albion will disappear and all its good work in the community will be lost.
Falmer PC – Both of these claims are untrue. We have indicated earlier that B&H Albion, even at Withdean, have the same prospects of survival as many other football league clubs.
Also, many towns and communities in the UK do not have a Football League club but junior football and sports in those areas, and the community, survive without them. Junior sports country wide are in the main maintained by committed parents and non league and amateur clubs, without help from professional clubs.
In educational terms Brighton has many academic institutions, including schools, colleges and two universities all serving the community and capable of delivering educational, IT and other training to all ages.
There is a failing media college at Sheepcote Valley threatened with closure. Perhaps a stadium located there, with very direct links to the college would help maintain it to serve the community again ?.
All of these claims by B&H Albion, and many others, have been aired thoroughly and challenged at the public inquiries. Opponents to the Falmer Stadium proposals have also pointed out serious flaws in the club’s planning application in areas like alternative sites, transport, access, parking, environmental and landscape impact and the financial stability of a stadium without other enabling development. It is now up to independent, professional planning, inspectors to report their findings to the Secretary of State and for him to make a decision on the planning issues, unaffected by the often unfounded rhetoric or political blackmail now being employed by B&H Albion via post inquiry lobbying of John Prescott, outside the planning process and untested at a public inquiry.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT WE RETALIATE
