Cray Wanderers FC fail with Sandy Lane stadium bid

1:23pm Friday 21st September 2012 in News By Harry Kemble

Gary Hillman saw his stadium bid unanimously opposed at Thursday's meeting Gary Hillman saw his stadium bid unanimously opposed at Thursday's meeting

COUNCILLORS unanimously rejected Cray Wanderers FC’s new stadium plans at a planning meeting on Thursday (20).

The second oldest football club in the world had been hoping to move back to its spiritual home in St Paul’s Cray by building a 5,153-seat stadium in Sandy Lane with 182 homes.

A disappointed Cray Wanderers chairman Gary Hillman spoke to News Shopper after the meeting.

He said: "The council does not understand football.

"We have not had any communication with them telling us what they want."

Bromley Council threw out the plans for a number of reasons including the fact the proposed site is on green belt land and is next to a "site of special scientific interest".

Ecological and nature conservation measures outline there should be a buffer zone between the development footprint and the boundary of Ruxley gravel pits - a registered SSSI.

These old gravel workings are an oasis for wildlife from encroaching industrial, housing and road development. 

Councillors also deemed a 5,000 plus seat stadium unnecessarily large for a club in the seventh tier of English football - the Ryman Isthmian Premier League.

But Mr Hillman claims that if the club had proposed a smaller stadium, councillors would have still had issues with the site.

He said: "Whether it is a 500 seater stadium, 2,000 or a 3,000 it does not make any difference you still need changing rooms, showers and everything else a football stadium needs.

"And would you call that site one of outstanding natural beauty?"

Meanwhile, Councillor Peter Fortune said 90 per cent of the responses he received opposed the plans because of the idea of more development on green belt land.

He added: "The response of local residents has instructed us to say that we have to reject this plan."

Cllr Fookes admitted if the stadium had been of a smaller size he may have voted differently.

Chairman of development control, Cllr Peter Dean, shared the view that despite the emotional attachment which many of the councillors had with the club, he could not see the past the fact it would have been a Green Belt development.

He said: "While we recognise that this was an application with great public interest, it simply did not demonstrate the exceptional circumstances needed to grant permission to build on Green Belt land."

Mr Hillman says he will consider his next move soon.

Comments(9)

Citygirl83 says...
2:37pm Fri 21 Sep 12

I really do hope that Cray Wanderers do eventually find somewhere they can uild a ground, they are wonderful team and very welcoming and it would be a shame if they were to disband because of these issues.

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cookster says...
5:35pm Fri 21 Sep 12

You would have thought a football club would know about using cash in brown paper bags.

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dag says...
8:11pm Fri 21 Sep 12

I have looked at the number of people that go to Cray Wanderers matches and it's usually about 2 - 300. I think building that stadium was just an excuse to build loads more homes. I LOVE the wildness of Sandy Lane. The road is so narrow I can't imagine all that traffic from those homes coming and going on that road.Here come the nimby remarks!!! Can't they demolish Klingers and build their stadium on that site?

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Marty1979 says...
10:05pm Fri 21 Sep 12

Unfortunately the old Klingers building is listed, so can't be demolished

I expect the council are waiting for it to fall down so they can then sell the site & allow Tesco to expand

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goldenbroomboy says...
7:09am Sat 22 Sep 12

Marty1979 wrote:
Unfortunately the old Klingers building is listed, so can't be demolished I expect the council are waiting for it to fall down so they can then sell the site & allow Tesco to expand
In all fairness to Bromley Council, they have a good record of protecting the Green Belt. If Gary Hillman really wants to make money by destroying the Green Belt, why not try for a stadium in Footscray instead? Footscray is under the control of Bexley Council, who happily brick over anything with grass on it.

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Petra69 says...
7:52pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Very well done to Bromley Council. A sensible decision from a man that is just a developer trying it on. The football part is just a sideshow and the sensible Bromley councillors were not fooled by Hillman's antics. If he is daft enough to go to appeal lets hope the planning inspector also sees sense.

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craygirl13 says...
5:11pm Mon 24 Sep 12

Well done to Bromley Council for acting in the interests of those who elected them. Most of my neighbours and myself were not opposed in principle to the idea of Cray Wanderers having a football ground here of a less ambitious nature than that which was proposed - it was the sheer size and everything that went with this proposal - namely the huge impacts of the residential development and increased traffic that people objected to - Mr Hillman could not seem to grasp this fundamental point.

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Winniewayne says...
10:28pm Thu 27 Sep 12

I was born in sandy lane,i often joke that u cant get more local than me,being born 15 ft from the local pub,cray wanderers wer put together in st mary cray,they sold there lastground,which is now housing,i have spoke to many other locals,who all did not want the site built on this greenbelt land,also on this site is a heratige site,there are many reasons not to build housing here,we dont want it,i am so pleased the council saw sence,well done,i would like to add that my father played for them in the 60,s,

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Winniewayne says...
11:22pm Thu 27 Sep 12

Please read mr hillmans comment on cray wanderers site about the local traveller,s,who does he think he is,let him build the new ground and all them houses in his back garden,this is greenbelt,keep out !!

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