Hello from Wrexham Fans!
We and "fans united" would love to have your help and support to protect our ground from any chance of future property development.
www.redpassion.co.uk/petition
Not everyone knows Wrexham's Racecourse ground is "The Oldest International Football Stadium in the World", still in use today. [Good one to remember for pub quiz night]
We need your valued support and help. The club has been sold to a parent company, who are acting as property developer and developing the car park land the club used to own as an asset. This is for a block of student flats for the nearby university and due to the scale of the development it needs to encroach very close to the stadium. The result being the kop end terrace has had to be closed until the development has been completed. We currently have a 3 sided ground and understand the Kop end should be rebuilt at phase 3, a few years down the road. We have been assured a healthy chunk of the profits from the development will be paid back into Wrexham Football Club, rather than just retained by the property developer. Although the section 106 guarantee we were promised would be submitted to planning, never materialised and planning permission given irrespective. This has left some concerns and anxiety and now just relies on trust.
For the future and to protect the interests of the fans, and avoid any chance the club land could ever be developed on, we want the Local Authority to secure the Racecourse as an international ground and football stadium, as a reserved matter within the Local Development Plan LDP. It could then never be sold as development land and then be built on for supermarkets or more flats and the like. To do this we have a mission to secure 10,500 names on the petition, the current capacity of the Racecourse Ground. We will use this to lobby the Councillors at the LDP planning hearing in the autumn.
The response in less than two weeks has been fantastic and we have secured 4,274 signatures from fans of more than 30 clubs across the UK and even as far as Porto and Grampus Eight in Tokyo!
Wrexham and Charlton have had some entertaining games over the years at both the Valley and the Racecourse ground and your support would be magnificent for us.
Wishing all the Charlton fans a successful season and to be where you want to be in May.
Thanks
Cae Ras
1
Comments
Paul.
signed
What party holds the power in Wrexham?
(Signed!)
Addickted - Thanks for asking the question. Regarding the 106 the club suggested through the media they did intend to include it in the planning submission but eventually decided not to. Why the LA didn’t request it themselves is a good question. Possibly it would appear the chief planning officer was satisfied with the result without the 106. The rest is history. Unfortunate episodes then ensued., with the supporters trust accused by the board of trouble stirring and trying to bring the club down by interfering with the planning, when all it was doing was trying to do, was protect the Racecourse and the best interests of its 700 members and the fans.
We now need to have total confidence in trust in the board. Unfortunately as most football fans are aware, trust has not always been the golden chalice made out to be by club owners up and down the country. We simply don’t know and hence this move to protect the ground in LDP, to avoid all opportunity for future development on the ground. The board have made “no comment” on the 4300 strong petition which has been running for just over two weeks. We would like to see their support, but our main focus is lobbying the councillors and “Executive Board” of the council who will make the decision, before it is sent down to the Welsh Assembly government in Cardiff to be rubber stamped.
Believe the Liberal party holds the power of council court -Wrexham although it is varied and there are key alliances in different seats.
5th January 1980. My worst birthday EVER!
If you loose your stadium, don't go to Croydon.
Your support has made a difference and will be noted by David Conn at the Guardian who wrote about the petition here ....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2009/jul/20/wrexham
p.s had a good freind called Tim Parker who was a very big Charlton fan and used to run a design business on floral street, Covent Garden called "Burro" opposite Paul Smith. Sadly they ceased trading I think afew years ago. Though he did tell me they ended up designing and producing much of the leisurewear for Chartlon's club shop. Bit of a dream job that designing for your mates and the club you love.
Good luck, Wrexham!
Well done, you Greenies.
Shame we won't get the chance to beat you again this season ...... ;o)
Here's the petition link again:
Save the Racecourse ground petition