Royal Elm Park

[Za Vas]

Yep, I’m with you now and agreed. I would expect the offsite provision will come in the form of a couple of large cheques at various milestones in the development. Possibly 25%, 50% and 75% occupation of private units.

All in all I think it’s quite exciting and positive for the club / town as a whole and with the new ice rink we may finally be granted city status…

[RoyalBlue]

Regarding the free travel, the idea in principle is good enough, but driving into the town centre on a Saturday to find a car park is a complete pain in the backside at the best of times, esp if a load of footy fans start to use the car parks as well. I'm guessing there is nothing in the plans to build a new town centre car park

I think they need to do something airport style, where you park in a big field somewhere nearby away from the centre and there is a regular shuttle going back and forth

I think you are right. The idea that paperless tickets will solve the time taken to clear the area is absolute nonsense if the buses are travelling any significant distance (unless they plan to have 100s of buses waiting for passengers, which I very much doubt).

The club better hope that the team are performing well, particularly during the transition period, because parking + travel issues + poor performances on the pitch will quickly drive thousands away, thus removing the parking/bus problem but also the club's income!

As for 'free buses' - remember the free parking at the stadium that was all the talk when the original planning permission for the Mad Stad was going through?

Happy to hear that this is going forward. I mean we need to keep in perspective that the parking/travel situation only concerns 23-30 days a year. It would be crazy to put that before a massive new investment project that will give people homes, jobs and amenities all year round.
.

The 23-30 days relate to the well being of what is (used to be?) the core business/purpose of the club. Get it wrong and potentially wave goodbye to that business. I'm afraid I would be selfish if that happened and not be able to find much consolation in the fact that homes, jobs and all year round amenities have replaced the club.

[Nameless]

The free parking was proposed by the club and vetoed by the council though .....

The transport situation is, I think, a bit over played. The current car park holds around 2000 cars. Be generous and assume that is 5000 people.
The new car park will hold 750 cars or 2250 people.
So that is 2750 people who will need to find alternatives.
Everyone else just carries on as usual.
Except if they do provide the additional park and ride, more buses, free buses then many of those who drive and sit in the car park for hours waiting to get out may decide that a bus is a better option. I currently drive but the bus actually stops at the end of my road, I may decide to switch if it is cheap, and easy.

[72 bus]

T I currently drive but the bus actually stops at the end of my road, I may decide to switch if it is cheap, and easy.

It is cheap and easy, plus you can get pissed.

[Nameless]

T I currently drive but the bus actually stops at the end of my road, I may decide to switch if it is cheap, and easy.

It is cheap and easy, plus you can get pissed.

Currently It's more expensive than driving, and not as easy. Plus I have rather more taste than drinking enough stadium beer to get drunk.

[Sutekh]

T I currently drive but the bus actually stops at the end of my road, I may decide to switch if it is cheap, and easy.

It is cheap and easy, plus you can get pissed.

Currently It's more expensive than driving, and not as easy. Plus I have rather more taste than drinking enough stadium beer to get drunk.

You can get drunk on beer served in football stadia

[bobby1413]

I like the bit that says "....flexible space for live events and concerts..." hope that space will be flexible enough to allow for a concert hall that would allow Reading to be included on many a band's concert tours and not just a 500/1000 seat maximum offered by the Hexagon.

This x1000

We need something like the Motor point arena in Nottingham/Cardiff which holds 5000+ people. Something that makes Reading a more attractive option to outsiders.

I know people often say we're close to London but it's about time we stop that sh*t and make an identity of our own

[72 bus]

T I currently drive but the bus actually stops at the end of my road, I may decide to switch if it is cheap, and easy.

It is cheap and easy, plus you can get pissed.

Currently It's more expensive than driving, and not as easy. Plus I have rather more taste than drinking enough stadium beer to get drunk.

If you are taking a car load with you then yes driving is cheaper, but easier, really ? do you honestly find driving easier than just walking to the end of your road and getting on the bus.
For me :
Parking = £8
Bus=£5 return and I am home quicker on the bus.

[Nameless]

It is cheap and easy, plus you can get pissed.

Currently It's more expensive than driving, and not as easy. Plus I have rather more taste than drinking enough stadium beer to get drunk.

If you are taking a car load with you then yes driving is cheaper, but easier, really ? do you honestly find driving easier than just walking to the end of your road and getting on the bus.
For me :
Parking = £8
Bus=£5 return and I am home quicker on the bus.

I don't park in the stadium car park and don't pay for parking. I don't queue to get in my car or wait for anyone else to fill up the other seats. My neighbours get the bus, I often see them waiting at the bus stop and I'm always home before them.

[KC Royal]

I take it that the proposed multi-storey is no longer going ahead?

I've rarely parked in the stadium car park but as someone who drives to home games (though I've not been to any game this season) I am worried about how the loss of spaces will impact on parking in the area.

[me]

The one thing that really concerns me is stadium expansion. If the need arises to increase capacity by 10-15,000, what is the likelihood that one nimby objects and blocks expansion. Surely there would have to be something in the sales contract giving the club the right to expand the stadium?

[Nameless]

I take it that the proposed multi-storey is no longer going ahead?

I've rarely parked in the stadium car park but as someone who drives to home games (though I've not been to any game this season) I am worried about how the loss of spaces will impact on parking in the area.

There are still 800 spaces in the multi-storey.
The loss of spaces will obviously have an impact of some kind but impossible to know how much.
It's a minority of fans affected and how many of them would just happily use the bus or park and ride we can't tell.
I do know the club want to provide more offsite parking like Foster Wheeler and Mereoak but finding sites is not easy...

[Nameless]

The one thing that really concerns me is stadium expansion. If the need arises to increase capacity by 10-15,000, what is the likelihood that one nimby objects and blocks expansion. Surely there would have to be something in the sales contract giving the club the right to expand the stadium?

You cannot stop someone objecting. The previous expansion was partly halted by spurious objections from a neighbouring council.
The objection would need to be upheld though and it's hard to see how someone renting a flat on a sports complex could raise a sustainable objection.

[multisync1830]

The one thing that really concerns me is stadium expansion. If the need arises to increase capacity by 10-15,000, what is the likelihood that one nimby objects and blocks expansion. Surely there would have to be something in the sales contract giving the club the right to expand the stadium?

You cannot stop someone objecting. The previous expansion was partly halted by spurious objections from a neighbouring council.
The objection would need to be upheld though and it's hard to see how someone renting a flat on a sports complex could raise a sustainable objection.

back in 13 SJM said something strange back then as he suggested that the original PM would lapse so they needed to resubmit.

However as you start going up the hill from the small roundabout M4 end on the grassy knoll to the right, there was some building work being done around that time. I asked the right person and he said "That's a section of foundation for the stadium expansion so we can show we have started within the expiry date"

not sure if this will work:

https://www.google.es/maps/@51.4215619, ... 312!8i6656

Of course stadium design and regulation has moved on since the original 07 plans so they would need to resubmit amendments

[Nameless]

PP definitely have a limited life, I doubt if a random bit of concrete would extend that indefinitely. Maybe if you genuinely carried on shortly after the expiry you might be ok but not if you left it years !

[multisync1830]

PP definitely have a limited life, I doubt if a random bit of concrete would extend that indefinitely. Maybe if you genuinely carried on shortly after the expiry you might be ok but not if you left it years !

would you have thought they would have taken due diligence on what constitutes 'a start'?

At the early stages of a project it is often a matter of planning judgement as to whether or not development has started.
However, the following are useful examples of when the Department would accept that development has commenced in accordance with the approval.
Where an applicant has complied with conditions relating to works to be carried out before the commencement of other work e.g the construction of an access in accordance with the approved plans, and
Where an applicant has commenced any work of construction in the course of the erection of a building, such as the digging of foundations and preferably pouring of concrete, driving of piles or other substantive works;
The laying of any underground main pipe to the foundations or part of the foundations of a building;

[RoyalBlue]

So the emphasis over the past couple of decades has been to try to get football clubs and stadiums out of residential areas and onto new sites away from housing and with more opportunities for parking.

RFC & RBC achieved this objective with the Mad Stad but are now going to move a large residential area right onto the doorstep of a football stadium and remove a significant amount of the parking that was available, thus recreating many of the problems that existed previously!

And what is life going to be like for people wishing to walk to and from the stadium once the new development is built?

It could also be great 'fun' when one of the clubs with a more troublesome following visit whilst the surrounding area is a construction site!

[Jackson Corner]

What ever happened to the train link to Green Park? With all the new housing and business surely it would make sense to build a rail link.

[Silver Fox]

Having got picked up from the ground yesterday (daughter has a sprained ankle and Mrs SF took pity on her) I reckon they can't get rid of all parking soon enough. Chaotic scenes, get everyone away from the ground in buses and it will be far better

[Nameless]

PP definitely have a limited life, I doubt if a random bit of concrete would extend that indefinitely. Maybe if you genuinely carried on shortly after the expiry you might be ok but not if you left it years !

would you have thought they would have taken due diligence on what constitutes 'a start'?

At the early stages of a project it is often a matter of planning judgement as to whether or not development has started.
However, the following are useful examples of when the Department would accept that development has commenced in accordance with the approval.
Where an applicant has complied with conditions relating to works to be carried out before the commencement of other work e.g the construction of an access in accordance with the approved plans, and
Where an applicant has commenced any work of construction in the course of the erection of a building, such as the digging of foundations and preferably pouring of concrete, driving of piles or other substantive works;
The laying of any underground main pipe to the foundations or part of the foundations of a building;

How wonderful, but utterly meaningless !