Chickerell Town Council votes against stadium development

9:41am Thursday 22nd November 2012 in News

Town councillors voted unanimously against plans to put houses on the Weymouth Football Club site.

The suggested plans, which will be presented to the public as part of an early consultation process next month, could see the Bob Lucas Stadium moved to Lodmoor and houses developed on the old site.

Town councillors raised concerns about the loss of land designated for leisure, loss of a green gap between Southill and Chickerell and that the new development would be isolated from the rest of Chickerell.

The town council recommended the plans for residential development under the Draft Local Plan.

The vote is not binding and any decision would have to go through West Dorset District Council.

Comments(17)

leo210856 says...
10:08am Thu 22 Nov 12

Isolated from the rest of Chickerell . In reality that hits the nail on the head. The Stadium ,although sitting in West Dorset is in reality part of Weymouth. It houses Weymouth Football Club, in the main those that use this site are residents of Weymouth.
The draft plan is just that a draft and a plan. However within it makes a committment to re use Brownfield Sites for new housing developments(which is how the stadium is classified) before using Greenfield Sites intrestingly the main areas designated in the draft plan are in the on Greenfield Sites also there is a requirement to have a deliverable plan over 5 years( not just a plan but a proof that the plan can be delivered) I know WDDC have such a plan but in the main delivery is planned between 6 and 15 years.
Again within the local plan there is provision that land designated for lesiure can be used for other purposes if the a new site is made available where such leisure activities can be relocated to.
A long way to go on this but I wouldnt hold up the draft plan or indeed WDDC as being the final decision makers if and when an application is made.

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misterm says...
10:18am Thu 22 Nov 12

There seems to be a presumption that planning permission will be given to use part of Lodmoor for a Stadium. If this means the nature reserve, then it is surely a non starter anyway.

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leo210856 says...
10:56am Thu 22 Nov 12

I have no doubt that planning to develop what is at the moment part of a nature reserve will be thrown out but look how the land from where the park and ride links into lodmoor, look at the land around the rugby club and look both at lodmoor car park and the land around the college. There are a lot of possibilities there .

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stench says...
10:57am Thu 22 Nov 12

Bottom line, the devolpment will happen.

People expecting the council to actually listen to them? Don't be silly!

Decision has long been made.

At best, WFC may get a little patch of grass in Lodmoor. But players will have to bring jumpers for goal posts...

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leo210856 says...
11:35am Thu 22 Nov 12

stench wrote:
Bottom line, the devolpment will happen.

People expecting the council to actually listen to them? Don't be silly!

Decision has long been made.

At best, WFC may get a little patch of grass in Lodmoor. But players will have to bring jumpers for goal posts...
Not sure any such decision has been made but you do raise a point about what sort of stadium would be offered up or indeed acceptable.
Clearly both Weymouths and come to that Dorchesters stadiums are too big. In WFC case a stadium orginally built with a capacity of 10,000 was stupid the up keep, insurance & business rates at the stadium have been prohibative. I think you can count on you fingers the number of times a crowd in excess of 4000 has been in attendence since the club first moved in.
So quite simply a capacity on no more than 4000 is something along the lines that WFC should be looking for coupled with an easy to maintain, well built freehold(or 999 year lease) facility with better social facilities.

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lifecoach says...
2:44pm Thu 22 Nov 12

From a sporting perspective you have hit the nail on the head! Weymouth have had 4,000 crowds, Dorchester recently for FA Cup had 3,500 crowds! Imagine where they would be with one club with a following of that amount every week. Surely better a merger than both sets of supporters disappointed in the end with two poor teams playing in two poor leagues! The area could easily facilitate a football league club but will only ever achieve it together. Do we have a Barry Hearn figure locally with the balls to deliver the Leyton Orient model in Dorset! The bitterness between the 300 regular DTFC fans and 400 Regular WFC Fans is Pointless. Neither club has any assets to speak of since the ground at WFC got sold. Im sure the Duchy would happily build a Stadium on the Ridgeway at the tip of their land in return for prime retail land where DTFC sits. The only future is in a facility that generates money 365 days a year through as many income sources as can be provided! Football should be incidental to the facilities income, not the be all and end all as is currently the case at both clubs.
As it stands pointless building anything, anywhere!

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royals says...
2:47pm Thu 22 Nov 12

"Again within the local plan there is provision that land designated for lesiure can be used for other purposes if the a new site is made available where such leisure activities can be relocated to."

So are Wessex Delivery (WDP) going to provide a new speedway stadium and youth football pitches as well???. For the Leisure Facilities their knocked down and put rubbish tip on instead.
Weymouth has area set out for Leisure The Wessex Studium so why change it put the houses somewhere else if Weymouth needs more houses ??

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cecilbdoomil says...
2:48pm Thu 22 Nov 12

Doh! they forgot to pass the brown envelopes!!

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Isosceles says...
2:51pm Thu 22 Nov 12

I don't understand the two sentences in this article which appear to contradict each other.
'Town councillors voted unanimously against plans to put houses on the Weymouth Football Club site.'
and then
'The town council recommended the plans for residential development under the Draft Local Plan.'

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leo210856 says...
3:11pm Thu 22 Nov 12

royals wrote:
"Again within the local plan there is provision that land designated for lesiure can be used for other purposes if the a new site is made available where such leisure activities can be relocated to."

So are Wessex Delivery (WDP) going to provide a new speedway stadium and youth football pitches as well???. For the Leisure Facilities their knocked down and put rubbish tip on instead.
Weymouth has area set out for Leisure The Wessex Studium so why change it put the houses somewhere else if Weymouth needs more houses ??
I think you are getting a litte confused as to just what has been available at the Wessex. At most there was the main pitch and a training pitch which was never in good condition for a while WFC tried to play matches on the land but never with sucess . The land is contaminated on this area planning permission was granted in the past to build a small number of industrial units. This was the area that the speedwey track was.
All of this land is located in West Dorset, not W&PBC and is private land part owned by WDP and part by WFC.There is no obligation for these two companies to provide any recreation activities on the site.
If any housing were to be built on this land it would be designated as being in Chickerell

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Ernest Pullen says...
3:38pm Thu 22 Nov 12

I read extracts from the Echo every day as I was born at Preston and spent the first 23 years of my life there. I regularly attended Weymouth Football Club matches when the Dave Massart, Andy Easton, Archie McGowan and Marcel Gaillard played for them but have only attended a handful of games at the 'new' ground although I did watch them play in pouring rain at Fareham in a replayed FA Cup tie a few years ago.

One thing intrigues me about today's report. Whenever was Chickerell designated as a town?

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royals says...
6:03pm Thu 22 Nov 12

Leo1234WDP
I maybe a little confused how wessex delivery WDP got away with digging up one of the only Floodlighted areas for kids football in the local area to put rubbish dump on it
I am also a little confused at why WDP would dig up the speedway track and turn down £20,000 income a year
I hope WDP get what they deserve a rubbish dump that is worthless

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Mrs Grumps says...
6:11pm Thu 22 Nov 12

Chickerell, where I live, became a town in 2001 after its population reached over 5000, making it eligible. The fact that it still doesn't have town facilities seems to be ignored by those proposing to build loads of houses here and despite the promises of previous developers.

Most older locals still speak of it as a village. The Parish councillors applied for its promotion to town status and now they are Town councillors.

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TenBobDylanThomasHardy says...
6:59am Fri 23 Nov 12

Has anyone asked Southill residents if they want to be part of Chickerell Newtown?
Not really a 'joining' since there would still be a substantial Golf-course between the two.
This is classic NIMBYism, objecting simply because they can.

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Isosceles says...
11:25am Fri 23 Nov 12

'The Parish councillors applied for its promotion to town status and now they are Town councillors.'
Was that because they then feel that they are entitled to higher allowances or just ego inflation?

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Is it me or is everything rubbish? says...
7:34pm Sat 24 Nov 12

royals wrote:
Leo1234WDP
I maybe a little confused how wessex delivery WDP got away with digging up one of the only Floodlighted areas for kids football in the local area to put rubbish dump on it
I am also a little confused at why WDP would dig up the speedway track and turn down £20,000 income a year
I hope WDP get what they deserve a rubbish dump that is worthless
Wessex Stadium is a real state and the objectors are looking at it through rose tinted spectacles. It needs lots of money spent on it to make it fit for purpose- money that simply does not exist.
.
A residential development would improve the current site, provide some much needed housing to the local area (it would an extension to Southill NOT Chickerell) and as a brownfield site, no greenbelt land would be affected.
.
The proposed new stadium would be brand new and in a much better condition than the existing one- no doubt with 21st century facilities (I would imagine that proper floodlit pitches would be available).
.
The Lodmoor site cannot really be used for something else- this development would give WFC a much improved stadium, would provide some much needed extra housing (whilst maintaining greenbelt land) and would clear up the awful Wessex Stadium.
.
What is the problem?

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Isosceles says...
10:21pm Sat 24 Nov 12

Is it me or is everything rubbish? says 'What is the problem?'

Access to the proposed site is likely to be a serious problem.
Jobsworths in DCC already have it in their minds to hinder/reduce traffic along the southern end of Preston Road by fair means or foul including adding islands in the middle of the road and removing bus lay-byes.
Anyone expecting the proposed 'Lodmoor' stadium traffic to travel down Weymouth Way, across Swannery Bridge, up King Street and then eastwards along Greenhill needs to have a serious discussion with some men in white coats.
Would you suggest that access be via Weymouth Bay Avenue via busy Dorchester Road?

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