Maidenhead football club's expansion plans 'a no-brainer'

Update, March 16: 

The council has approved a bid to install hundreds more seats at Maidenhead United’s grounds, which the club’s chairman Peter Griffin said is to ‘protect the club’s interests at York Road’.

Plans were put in to extend the south stand of the National League ground to provide an additional 224 seats; plus a new stand to the north of the site to seat 304 people.

Included is a wheelchair and disabled persons' seating area, disabled toilets, a changing block and improved floodlighting.

Maidenhead United Football Club put in an application in September, saying it will allow them to continue to meet play-off requirements of the National League and EFL.

Every year, the club must demonstrate its ability to meet these obligations in order to be promoted.

This application is effectively just a renewal of planning permission for improvements that were granted in 2019 and expired earlier this year.

The matter came to a meeting of Maidenhead Development Management committee on Wednesday (March 15).

“For me, this is a bit of a no-brainer,” said Councillor Simon Werner (Lib Dem, Pinkneys Green). “It’s clear it’s what needs to happen and there's no problem with it.”

All other councillors agreed and a unanimous vote of approval was reached within minutes.

Meeting chair Cllr Maureen Hunt (Con, Hurley and Walthams) added that ‘it would be helpful’ if parking directions for visitors could be written into planning.

“I know the applicants have said they will direct people to use the car park at Stafferton Way,” she said.

“I would like that to be put forward strongly because I’m just concerned that people coming to view will be running around Maidenhead in their car trying to find a parking space.

“If they don't know Maidenhead, it's very difficult to find the various ones.”

Monday, March 13:

According to an officers' report submitted in advance of Wednesday’s meeting, the plans are considered ‘acceptable’.

Officers recommend that the committee grant the planning application – subject to certain financial arrangements for the benefit of the Borough’s climate goals.

Specifically, the council is looking to finalise an agreement securing a monetary contribution to its carbon off-set fund.

If this is not secured, the development ‘would not make the fullest contribution... to tackling climate change’ and the officer’s recommendation, in that case, is to refuse planning permission.

Because the scheme is not carbon-neutral, Maidenhead United has agreed to this condition.

The proposals do not involve any changes in off-street parking and there are ‘no highway impacts’ as a result of them.

In terms of disturbance to neighbours by increased use, officers wrote the improved floodlighting ‘will have minimal impact’ on neighbours.

The noise ‘will be substantial and potentially increase’, but be for short periods of time, and not within the quiet hours of 11pm-7am.

The applicants state that these plans are a resubmission of a previously approved scheme, with the addition of the disabled facilities.

However, the immediate vicinity will be ‘subject to change’ as there have been a number of approved applications for apartment blocks, officers wrote.

This includes 51 apartments in a seven-storey block on the site of the existing café; 149 apartments in three blocks, six-eight storeys high on the temporary car park; and 53 apartments in a seven-storey block approved on the site of the St John’s Ambulance building.

Furthermore, there is an application for 49 apartments in an eight-storey block on the site of the Spiritualist Church, which is currently the subject of an appeal.

The football club is a ‘long-established community use’ and the Borough Local Plan states that existing community facilities ‘should be retained, improved and enhanced’.