Ebbsfleet United Football Club, Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, Kent
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SUMMARY REPORT Application Ref: 20170221 Site Address: Ebbsfleet United Football Club, Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, Kent DA11 7GN Application Demolition of the Plough End Stand and ancillary buildings and Description: erection of a replacement Stand (Phase 1B), integrated 55- bedroom hotel together with new access, parking and ancillary facilities Applicant: Ebbsfleet United Football Club Agent: P+DA - Planning & Development Associates (Alan Gunne-Jones) Ward: Northfleet North Parish: Non Parish Area Decision due date: 14 June 2017 Publicity expiry date: 21 April 2017 Decision level: Planning Regulatory Board - 17 May 2017 Reasons for referral: At the discretion of the Interim Development Manager; the previous application for the redevelopment of the ground was the subject of a report to the Board Recommendation: To be set out in a supplementary report Summary of Reasons for Recommendation The proposal is for the demolition of the Plough End Stand at Ebbsfleet United football ground in Stonebridge Road Northfleet and other ancillary buildings and for the erection of a replacement stand (Phase 1B), integrated 55-bedroom hotel together with new access, parking and ancillary facilities. The Borough Council granted planning permission in 2015 to a hybrid planning application under GR/2015/0081 for the redevelopment of the whole football ground that will meet Football League ground grading criteria and increase capacity from 4,500 (prior to current improvements) to 6,000. That part of the permission that was granted in full is currently being implemented, with the new main stand fronting Stonebridge Road nearing completion. The remainder of the permission was in outline form. Because the current proposal deviates from the original permission by including a 55 bed budget hotel at the Plough End, a separate full planning application has been necessary. The key issues to consider are the principle of the development, whether the hotel in this location is sequentially appropriate, design issues, flood risk issues, highway access and parking issues and impact of the development in environmental terms. At this stage there are a number of key consultation responses that have not been received. In addition a number of responses to the various key issues and concerns are awaited from the applicants. Progress in these matters will be reported in a supplementary report along with a formal recommendation. MAIN REPORT 1. Site Description and Surroundings 1.1 The site comprises the Ebbsfleet United Football Ground currently known as the Stonebridge Road Stadium in Stonebridge Road, Northfleet situated in an industrial location near the western edge of the Borough. 1.2 The ground has three stands with seating and some standing areas and open terracing at the western end of the ground. The Town or main stand on the north side of the pitch, and which contains the existing changing rooms and offices, is the oldest stand at the ground dating from 1914 and is a partly wooden and partly corrugated iron sheeted structure. 1.3 Ebbsfleet United currently play their fixtures in the Vanarama Conference South division, one league from the Football Conference division (National League) and thus two leagues away in the football pyramid from Division 2 of the Football League. They are currently involved in the promotion play-offs. The football ground has been in active use for sporting purposes since 1905. 1.4 Gravesend & Northfleet Football Club, as it was previously known, was born as a merger of two existing neighbouring clubs - Gravesend United and Northfleet United in 1946. The club has had a long history with some limited success in the lower divisions outside of the Football League including being within the Football Conference and most notably winning the FA Trophy at Wembley in 2008. In May 2007 the club had changed its name to Ebbsfleet United and in February 2008 had been taken over by an internet venture MyFootballClub.co.uk involving paid members owning the club and voting on decisions. In May 2013, the club was purchased by a Kuwaiti company, KEH Sports Ltd. The Borough Council were the landowners of the ground but sold this off in 2016. 1.5 Prior to the recent ground improvements referred to below the ground had a capacity of around 4,500 spectators of which 500 were seated, although the average attendances at the ground have been considerably lower than this - in the season 2014/2015 this was around 960. Capacity crowds have though on occasions been attracted, notably for the Conference play-off final against Dover Athletic at the end of the 2013/14 season which drew an attendance of 4,294 and Ebbsfleet United was the highest attended club in their division for 2014/2015. The play off final in the 2015/2016 season between Ebbsfleet and Maidstone Utd drew a crowd of 3,800 to the stadium. 1.6 There have been some recent ground improvements including refurbishment of the toilets and improved floodlighting but more significantly the Stonebridge Road stand was demolished in 2016 and is being replaced with a new main stand as a result of a planning permission (hybrid type application) to replace all the stands granted in April 2015 (20150081). The seating has in part been made available for spectator use since Christmas 2016 and the whole stand is due for completion in May/June 2017. 1.7 The total site area of the ground as shown in the red line plan is 1.79 hectares (4.4 acres). 1.8 Adjoining uses include:- to the north-west: a terrace of 4 houses (64-67 Stonebridge Road) on the A226/Lower Road signalised junction, an area of open land and warehouse units on the Northfleet Industrial Estate; to the north-east: a builder’s merchants and further small industrial units, with an aggregates wharf beyond; to the south-east: a car wash facility and workshop building, with the Ebbsfleet stream underground in culvert; and beyond that the former Plough Inn, now a cafe and restaurant; and to the south-west, across the A226: a car dealership, petrol filling station, a retail unit and former furniture warehouse now used as a gymnasium; and the Ebbsfleet Industrial Estate. 1.9 Other nearby residential properties include Railway Street and Wallis Park, Northfleet to the south east of the ground and 70m and 100m away from the ground respectively and Phoenix Court, Swanscombe, 130m to the south west of the ground. 1.10 Vehicular access to the site is from the A226 Stonebridge Road roundabout and from the A226 at a point immediately behind the Swanscombe End terracing, some 160 metres to the north-west. These vehicular access points are also shared by pedestrians entering the football ground via the home and away turnstiles. There are 4 pairs of turnstiles at the home entrance into the ground. Adjacent to the home turnstiles and vehicular entrance is a small brick Southern Water pumping station building, originally a Northfleet UDC building dating from 1932. 1.11 Stonebridge Road is a single carriageway road with one running lane in each direction but has wide 3.0m plus lanes and is subject to a 30mph speed limit. There are footways both sides and the carriageway and footways are lit. There are traffic lights beyond the stadium to the west at the junction of the A226 with Lower Road. 1.12 Part of the open area to the north-west of the football ground is used for car parking on match days and provides parking for approx. 70 cars. The remainder of this open area comprises a fenced compound currently used by Sian Formwork Ltd, civil and construction engineers, including CCS Scaffolding but was once used for further ground car parking and other storage uses. Vehicular access to the football ground and to Sian Formwork is shared in this location. An electricity pylon also occupies a central position within this open area, with a 400KV National Grid power line crossing the site. 1.13 On match days an additional 20 spaces are provided for players at the adjoining Sian Formwork Ltd compound. Some 550 parking spaces are available for spectators at the Ebbsfleet International Station Car Park C which is an approximate 5-10 minutes walking time from the ground. Ebbsfleet International Station and Northfleet station are within walking distance from the ground and provide access to spectators to the national rail network. There are bus stops outside the ground in Stonebridge Road which provide access to a wide range of bus services including Arriva’s Sapphire Bus Route. 1.14 Coaches arriving with either supporters or visiting teams drop off and then park away from the ground. For supporters the coaches park at the Ebbsfleet International Car Park C; for visiting teams that arrive by coach, provision is made within the Club’s parking area. 1.15 The open area to the north-west of the ground occupied by Sian Formwork and for stadium car parking was once allotments. Moreover much of the area now occupied by the football ground was once a clay pit serving a local cement works. Whilst this was restored during the 1890s, there is no record of its depth or the fill material used. It is also understood that the football ground terracing comprises made-ground with concrete steps over. 1.16 The whole of the site is low lying (@3.0 – 3.5m AOD) and would be susceptible to flooding should the Thames flood defences fail or be overtopped during an extreme tidal event. The site could also be affected by flooding from the Ebbsfleet stream during an extreme pluvial event, notwithstanding the fact that the adjoining section is in culvert. 1.17 It should also be noted that the site lies within an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) which was established in recognition of existing poor air quality due to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM10s).