Maidenhead United hope to move to proposed Braywick Park home within 'two to three years'

Maidenhead United chairman Peter Griffin has set out the possible timescale for the development of the club’s proposed stadium in Braywick Park in an interview with BBC Radio Berkshire.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Griffin said that if the club was able to get the greenlight for its scaled back stadium proposals in the coming months, he hopes the Magpies could be playing in their new home within ‘two to three years’.

The club saw its initial proposals for a new stadium and training facilities at the front of the park blocked by the newly installed Lib-Dem council a couple of years ago.

But Mr Griffin and club CEO Jon Adams have since been working in a more collaborative way with the council and key stakeholders to try and address some of their concerns.

Together, they’ve come up with a solution which should meet everyone’s needs, and key stakeholders in the park – such as Maidenhead Rugby Club – appear to be more broadly supportive of the new proposal.

Concerns over the scale of the development and its location at the front of the park have been addressed, with the Magpies proposing a new two-storey development at the back of Braywick Park with a new access road from Vicus Way.

The club is also proposing a two-site solution to meet its needs going forward, with plans for training facilities – with a futsal hall and artificial training pitches – set to be developed elsewhere in the borough should the club find a suitable venue. Those facilities are seen as crucial for bringing in new revenue streams for the club from community use.

The new ground would have a capacity of 5,000, with 2,000 seats, and be football league compliant should the Magpies ever be able to make that step. The new hybrid surface would also enable many more competitive matches – not just for the men’s first team but for all sections of the club, with the hope that this will again boost revenue.

Mr Griffin told Radio Berkshire: “We’re in the throes of public engagement.

“From the start of January were running a series of focus groups where people can come along and give their views on this.

“Already we’re getting a lot of positive feedback. And we know people understand the reasons for the move.

“The original plans from a few years ago were turned down because of the scale of the building, the design of the stadium and the location in the park was all called into question.

“We’ve addressed all these points with the council and have been working hard with them and other groups, environmental groups, residents’ groups, to make the move work for as many people as possible.

“The focus groups take place in January, the council vote on this between January and March to give their approval, if they agree with what we’re doing, which we’re very hopeful that they do.

“Our local MP, Joshua Reynolds, is a big supporter now, he wasn’t before but he is now because he thinks we’ve changed our plans to make it as good as it can be for the football club, the local community and the town.

“The earliest time is two years (for moving into the new ground), but somewhere between two and three years is very likely based on timescale for planning and the build.”

In the radio interview on Tuesday morning, Mr Griffin explained that York Road is at capacity in terms of its development and ‘no longer fit for purpose’. It remains the oldest continually used football ground in world football and has huge sentimental value for the club and its supporters, but most now recognise the club’s need to move to become more self-sustainable, successful and profitable. Mr Griffin added that by moving to Braywick Park, the club would be rejoining the town’s ‘sports hub’, which was also the case when York Road was created more than 150 years ago.

“It’s a historic ground but it’s now penned in by the railway line and all the development in Maidenhead,” added Mr Griffin.

“It’s not big enough or modern enough. As a football club, we don’t just have the men’s first team we have the women’s team, 70 youth teams, community activities and unfortunately it just isn’t a facility that’s a modern facility in any way

“With a heavy heart we must look elsewhere. It’s been a brilliant, old historic ground but it’s not fit for purpose anymore.

“I’ve been chairman and owner for 20 years. We are fans. We took it over 20 years ago to save the club from bankruptcy; we saved the ground from being seized to pay debts. We’ve been there to make sure the club survives. And we’ve looked at it from every angle, and we’ve spent millions of pounds over the past few years building new stands and facilities.

“We’ve done everything we can but there’s just no future there. We speak about the history of the club – 150 years we’ve been going. This is about securing the future of the club. We have not seen any option to stay at York Road I’m afraid. It’s just not fit for purpose anymore for all the reasons. The footprint is small; access is only from a couple of points. You can’t do anything about the size of the ground.

“We’ve had a great time there, but what we’re looking to do is secure the future of the club for the next 150 years. For future generations to enjoy and for all the grassroots teams that we run and all the activities. If they’re to continue we’ll have to move.”

On why Braywick Park remains the most suitable location for a new ground, he added: “It’s a brilliant location. Maidenhead is blessed with having a sports hub. Already at the park, there’s the leisure centre, there’s the rugby club, the padel club, the athletics club.

“It’s a real sports park and it’s within walking distance of the town centre. It’s five to 10 minutes’ walk from the train station, so for us it represents a brilliant move. For the town we think it’s a fantastic opportunity to have this amazing sports hub for participating and watching sports right in the middle of the town centre.”

The next steps will see councillors consider the club’s proposal at a cabinet meeting on January 27. They would then publish an open space notice on whether to dispose of the site to the club. That would be decided by the council’s cabinet on March 3 and, if agreed, the council would lodge a full planning application shortly afterwards.