Out-Law News 1 min. read
01 Jul 2014, 4:08 pm
The proposals, developed in partnership with the Greyhound Racing Authority and housebuilder Galliard Homes, include the phased construction of a 20,000-seat football stadium on the 5.29 hectare site, with the stadium planned to open with 11,000 seats after the initial phase. Approximately 600 homes and local retail space are proposed in the scheme, as well as a squash and fitness club and around 330 basement car parking spaces.
AFCW submitted a masterplan (28-page / 11.8 MB PDF) for the scheme to the Council in September 2013 in response to the Council's request for proposals for sites it was considering to allocate in its emerging sites and policies plan (SPP)for redevelopment by 2024. The draft SPP, which has since been confirmed as capable of adoption (26-page / 0.1 MB PDF) by an independent planning inspector, subject to modifications, allocates the greyhound stadium for "the intensification of sporting activity".
In a BBC radio interview, AFCW chief executive Erik Samuelson explained that the public exhibition of the proposals forms part of a public consultation ahead of the intended submission of a planning application to Merton Council.
"We've just announced a series of exhibitions for people who live near the stadium to look at the designs as part of a formal consultation before we move to a planning application", said Samuelson. Samuelson said that the proposed application for planning permission was "a couple of months away."
