At a meeting of the SUNDERLAND STADIUM OF LIGHT SAFETY ADVISORY GROUP held in the STADIUM OF LIGHT on WEDNESDAY, 14TH OCTOBER, 2009 at 10.00 a.m.
Present:-
Sunderland City Council:
K. Scott - Development Manager (in the Chair) C. Alexander - Sunderland Host City Bid Director G. Fisher - Senior Technician, Traffic and Road Safety D. Noon - Senior Democratic Services Officer R. Dobson - Deputy Manager, Aquatic Centre
North East Ambulance:
D. Langley
Sunderland AFC:
P. Weir - Safety Manager P. Weymes - Facilities Manager
Supporters Association:
S. Simpson
St. John Ambulance:
J. Purvis
FLA:
R. Riding - Inspector
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service:
P. Johnson
Nexus:
A. Gray
C:\WINDOWS\apsdoc\nettemp\980\$ASQc5192ab6-f013-4217-9338-80e80bdd1b2c Tyne and Wear Emergency Planning Unit:
D. Turnbull - Resilience Manager
Observing:
C. McDonald - South Tyneside Council, Building Control
1. Apologies
Apologies for absence were submitted to the meeting on behalf of Paul Baxter, Peter Stoddart, Andy Hindhaugh and Michael Dodds.
2. Change in the Order of Business
The Chairman advised that he would be taking Item 11 on the agenda ‘World Cup 2018 – Update’ at this juncture to allow Mr. Alexander to leave and attend a further meeting thereafter.
3. World Cup 2018 – Update
The Chairman welcomed and introduced Chris Alexander, the Sunderland Host City Bid Director, who provided the Group with a progress report on the development of Sunderland’s bid to become a Host City for the 2018 World Cup.
Mr. Alexander advised that the process had begun in May 2009 and there had been 5 months of intensive work culminating in the City being in a position to submit its bid by the deadline of 9 th November. Without the ability of the various agencies across the City to work in partnership it would have been impossible to provide such a comprehensive bid.
Representatives of Sunderland’s Bid would be invited to London to formally present the bid during the period 7 th to 9 th December. A decision would be announced as to which 16 cities had been successful on 14th December. These 16 cities would form the basis of the Football Association’s bid to become the 2018 host nation which was due to be submitted to FIFA in May 2010.
The scale of what had been involved was significant. The Stadium of Light was pivotal to the strength of the bid, however it included a whole range of partners from across Sunderland, County Durham, Teesside and Carlisle.
In finalising the bid there would be a need to match venues and locations with elements such as transport, legacy, safety and security. Mr. Alexander provided the Group with contact details should Members wish to discuss any further aspects of the bid.
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The Group welcomed Mr. Alexander’s presentation and the Chairman thanked him for his attendance.
4. Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 8 th July, 2009
RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting held on 8 th July, 2009 be agreed as a correct record.
5. Matters Arising
i) Safety Manager
Mr. Weir informed the Group that Neil Burrigan had now been appointed as the new Safety Officer.
ii) Fixtures
In response to an enquiry from the Chairman, Mr. Weir stated that no decision had yet been taken as to which club, Newcastle or Sunderland, would be required to rearrange the fixture with both being scheduled to play at home on 6 th February, 2010.
Mr. Purvis advised that St. John Ambulance would be unable to cover both fixtures on the same day in terms of both personnel and equipment required.
iii) Smart Card Turnstile Entry System
Mr. Weymes informed the Group that following the successful pilot, the smartcard entry system had been extended Stadium-wide without any problems. Mr. Simpson confirmed that he had received no complaints whatsoever from supporters regarding the turnstiles.
6. Table Top Exercise – Feedback and Evaluation
Mr. Turnbull stated that from his point of view it had been a very good exercise and he had been extremely impressed with the level of interaction between organisations. The evaluation report had only just been completed and copies were circulated for the Group’s attention.
The Chairman asked each Member of the Group to look at the report from the point of view of their organisation and to see if there were any implications for their own contingency plans. If there were, the Chairman asked that they be fed back to him and he would forward them to Mr. Turnbull.
C:\WINDOWS\apsdoc\nettemp\980\$ASQc5192ab6-f013-4217-9338-80e80bdd1b2c Mr. Turnbull confirmed that for ease of reference he would circulate an electronic version of the evaluation report to each Member of the Group.
7. Standing in Seated Areas Reduction for Visiting Fans of Liverpool and West Ham United
The Chairman advised that the Council’s Regulatory Committee at its meeting held on 5 th October, 2009, had agreed that a limit be imposed upon the number of tickets made available by the Football Club to the visiting fans of Liverpool and West Ham United.
The problem regarding standing in seated areas continued to grow. The Chairman expressed his increasing annoyance at the lack of movement from the Premier League. It was difficult to obtain the simplest piece of information from them and emails on the matter were no longer being responded to. The report on the issue, long since prepared by ‘Crowd Dynamics’, had yet to be made public.
Frustratingly the issue was becoming a major bone of contention for the Club as it continued to support the principle that standing in seated areas would not be tolerated whilst other clubs refused to tackle the issue. It was also hitting the Club financially to take this principled course of action.
Mr. Weymes advised that a letter had been sent to both West Ham and Liverpool accompanying the tickets with an explanation for the reductions. Liverpool had sent their usual response that because the match was likely to sell out, the away allocation was being reduced in an attempt to satisfy the demand from home fans. This was absolutely not the case and all seats denied to away fans would remain unsold.
The meetings of the Stock Taking Group (Premier League, Football League, Football Licensing Authority and Local Authorities) were continuing but little progress on the issue was being made.
The Chairman reported that the Core Cities Group being frustrated by the lack of action from the Premier League were about to approach the Minister for Sport directly to express their concerns.
Mr. Riding advised that the Football Licensing Authority had recently appointed a new Chairman who was keen to see the issue addressed and he would be raising the matter with the Minister.
The Group agreed to note the position with regard to standing in seated areas.
C:\WINDOWS\apsdoc\nettemp\980\$ASQc5192ab6-f013-4217-9338-80e80bdd1b2c 8. Replacement of Programme Cabins
Mr. Weymes advised that the locations for the new cabins had been agreed and that they would be secured to prevent them being blown over by the wind.
9. Update on Stadium Village Development
The Chairman advised that there was nothing new to report, however he would leave the issue as a standing item on the agenda. The arc were talking to various potential developers and it may be appropriate to invite representatives from the arc to address the Group in the near future.
10. Stadium Accident Report
Mr. Weir advised that Mr. Wandless had collated the accidents statistics from those accidents which had occurred since the last meeting and he would forward a copy to the Chairman.
Mr. Weymes advised that it had become apparent that people were tripping over the raised kerb outside main reception. The area had been painted white to help prevent any further incident.
Mr. Weir referred to the inset bus laybys outside the Aquatic Centre behind the North Stand. He advised that a number of people walking along the road having stepped down the kerb into the layby, were tripping over the step up at the far end. This was a particular problem when walking as part of a crowd.
11. Football Licensing Authority (FLA) – Issues
Mr. Riding informed the Group that the FLA had just completed the production of the Draft Safety Management Document which was due for release in early November. If a club chose to embrace the document it was all about the development of an operational management plan produced and held by the Club. The document represented guidance and was not mandatory. The primary legislation remained and would take precedence.
With regard to vicinity policing, Mr. Riding advised that this was not within the FLA’s remit. There had been a recent House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on the Cost of Policing Football Matches which had highlighted a lack of understanding from the Police on the role of Safety Advisory Groups.
Mr. Weir advised that the central issue regarding the cost of policing football matches was the boundary of Police activity. Should Clubs be liable for policing costs only in the Stadium and the immediate vicinity or should that extend to City Centre? Should Sunderland be held responsible for the policing costs arising from the incident at Newcastle Central Station following the Hearts/Sunderland pre season friendly?
C:\WINDOWS\apsdoc\nettemp\980\$ASQc5192ab6-f013-4217-9338-80e80bdd1b2c The Chairman stated that it was an argument that required a resolution and that the Group would continue to monitor the situation.
12. Medical Contingency Plan
On behalf of Mr. Stoddart, Mr. Langley advised that the Risk Assessment had been completed and the Plan developed in conjunction with Mr. Weir. Mr. Stoddart had envisaged that the document would be available for circulation at the match versus Liverpool on 17 th October.
Mr. Riding stated that he did not have a problem with the plan being drafted by the North East Ambulance Service as they were experts in their field, however once completed it should be handed over to the Club who would then take ownership of the document.
13. Any Other Business
i) Parking – Kier Hardie Way
Mr. Simpson advised that illegal parking on Keir Hardie Way was becoming a potentially dangerous problem. The Chairman advised that boulders prevented parking on the verges, however the vast majority of the cars were not unattended, although they were stationary, most contained a driver who moved when approached by a Civil Enforcement Officer. It was therefore very difficult to ticket offenders.
ii) Match v Liverpool – Attendance
Mr. Weir advised that approximately 45,000 tickets had been sold to date and it was therefore likely that the match would sell out.
iii) Swine Flu
The Chairman referred to the potential effect of swine flu on match day operations and the need to develop contingency plans should, for example, 50 to 60 people fail to attend owing to sickness.
14. Date of Next Meeting
It was agreed that the next Stadium of Light Safety Advisory Group meeting be held at the Stadium on Thursday, 17 th December, 2009 at 10.00 a.m.
(Signed) K. SCOTT, Chairman.
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