RBWM cabinet asked to give initial backing to Maidenhead United's stadium move plans

The Royal Borough’s cabinet will be asked to give initial backing to fresh plans by Maidenhead United to relocate from its historic York Road site.

The Magpies have long held ambitions to relocate their ground to a new purpose-built facility at Braywick Park.

But the project hit a roadblock in July 2023 after the council’s new Liberal Democrat administration blocked the release of open space at the park to facilitate the move.

Discussions have since been ongoing with the council regarding the move.

The latest plans look to address concerns raised about the previous proposals and build a stadium at a different location at the back of Braywick Park.

RBWM’s cabinet is set to discuss the plans at a meeting on Tuesday, where it is recommended councillors provide their support ‘in principle’ to the proposals.

A council report states that the plans have been presented to cabinet ‘to consider at this early stage’.

It added that MUFC ‘are on record’ outlining challenges they face at their existing stadium, which ‘continue to negatively impact the future growth and survival of the club’.

This includes York Road not being ‘fit for purpose’ due to issues such as its ‘ageing facilities’, a ‘time-limited’ opportunity to deliver a new stadium and sports facilities, and the club being able to generate ‘significant capital funding’ for investment into community sport through the sale of York Road.

The report added that the previous proposals were considered ‘underwhelming’ and the previous location – near to the existing athletics track – had also presented ‘several issues with existing clubs and users of the park’.

However, the council said the proposed new location, with its own access, would cover a smaller footprint and height and have a ‘reduced visual impact from the front of Braywick’.

There would also be a ‘modern grass surface’ for men’s, women’s and youth matches, the report added.

The football club originally reached an agreement with the previous Conversative administration to purchase a nine-acre site at Braywick Park for £460,000.

However, councillors later questioned the value of this deal, stating that it would mean the council would receive £460 a year over a 999-year lease.

However, the report said the renewed proposals would provide a total of £2.5million.

Of that, £2million would be provided to spend on upgrades to community sports facilities and environmental improvements.

The remaining £500,000 would be paid to the landlord over the first 20 years of the lease, equating to £25,000 per annum for 20 years, the report added.

Concerns over the previous plans also centred around a ‘lack of environmental enhancements as part of the proposed move’, the report said.

However, the latest plans show a ‘commitment to environmental and biodiversity enhancements’ at Braywick Park, delivered through working with both the council and Braywick Nature Centre.

The report said the proposals provide a chance to generate a capital receipt that could be used to fund investment into the council’s capital programme.

It added that the relocation of the club would also create an opportunity to redevelop the York Road site, subject to the formal planning process.