Letter of objection: Appendix 3
Appendix 3 Re. Proposed Development of Bootham Crescent Football Ground
Summary of some of the inconsistencies in planning applications made in 1996 and 2002
In our letter and in appendix 2, we have outlined how and why we feel that Persimmon and Bootham Crescent Holdings (BCH) are effectively acting and speaking "as one" in regard to the application to develop Bootham Crescent.
The entire board of BCH (Messrs Craig, Webb, Quickfall and Swallow) were members of the board of York City FC (Mr Craig at the time being chairman) in 1996, when an application was submitted to the City of York Council, proposing to build a large all-seated stand at the Grosvenor Road end of Bootham Crescent. Some of the points made at that time (in a statement published in the York Evening Press on January 25, 1996) directly contradict assertions now being made in the current proposal, and some of these contradictions are shown as follows (NB all statements referred to as "2002" are direct quotes from the current application).
2002: "It is clear that for the club to grow and to remain competitive in future, a new stadium is required"
1996: "Several years ago the Board decided that a new stadium on a green field site was not financially viable."
2002: "The re-development will enable the football club to relocate to a new stadium within the city, offering significant advantages for the club"
1996:"The subsequent experiences of the York Rugby League Club in moving from Clarence Street to a green field site at Huntington have confirmed that the Board's decision to re-develop and improve the ground at Bootham Crescent was the right one."
2002: "The Taylor Report….recommended that that from the 1999-2000 season all football league grounds should contain all-seated spectator accommodation with no terraces for standing. York City does not comply with this requirement and it is not considered feasible for the current facilities to be upgraded." (we submit by the way, that a "recommendation" and a "requirement" are two different things).
1996: "The David Longhurst Stand was built and in due course its conversion to seated accommodation will be a simple process"
2002: The site is clearly not suitable for continued use as a stadium
1996: "The Board has decided therefore that the time is now opportune to move on with the next stage of its planned development of the ground leading towards an all seater stadium of 10,000 capacity"
Given that the ground has not changed significantly since 1996, and that the Taylor report was published in 1990, we fail to see any reason why such an about-turn can have occurred in the six years between the 2 applications.
The nature of the proposed development in 1996 was unusual to say the least. For a club of York City's size to propose a comparatively huge stand with such a large capacity seemed unnecessarily extravagant, and in particular, the elevation facing properties on Grosvenor Road would have been significantly higher than the current aspect. In hindsight, we would submit that the refusal of planning permission was inevitable for this reason. It could be argued that the directors of York City at that time were aware of this, and in fact always intended to use the declined proposal as ammunition to strengthen the case that the Bootham Crescent site is unsustainable as a football ground. There is however no evidence to support such a theory, and so we remain unclear as to the motives behind this move. We would however submit that a much smaller stand in that location, in conjunction with basic redevelopment of the ground to achieve the same capacity may well have been granted planning permission, and at a similar cost to the club.
The fact remains that Bootham Crescent currently meets all of the standards required by the Football League and other relevant bodies, holds a current ground safety certificate, and as the home of a Division 3 club, does in fact meet all of the requirements of the Taylor Report (contrary to paragraph 1.3.2 of the Persimmon application document). We know of no proposed change to legislation or minimum requirements that are likely to alter this position in the foreseeable future.
Letter of objection
Appendix 1 - Summary of misleading statements in the application
Appendix 2 - re ownership of Bootham Crescent acquired by BCH