Lionel Road breakthrough?

Monday, 10 March 2003 | In Focus

Bees United believe they may have made a significant breakthrough in their efforts to secure the Lionel Road site.  
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Bees United believe they may have made a significant breakthrough in their efforts to secure the Lionel Road site.

Present at a meeting at the club's offices on Wednesday 5 March were representatives of the football club and the development company interested in purchasing Lionel Road. The club were represented by Bees United Chairman and club director John McGlashan, club director Eddie Rogers; Doug White of the Milhouse Group and Cllr Luke Kirton.

The trust's plans are for a 23,000-seater stadium on the brownfield site; a triangle of land between railway lines close to Kew Bridge Railway Station. The proposals would include a number of leisure and recreation facilities, with the potential to be become a flagship community development.

At the meeting proposals were made for a partnership between the developers and Brentford FC. Finance from the football club would come through the residential development of Griffin Park, whilst the developers could realise profits from enabling developments on the site.

The Lionel Road scheme would satisfy all the key S106 Conditions on the residential development of Griffin Park, and thereby maximise revenue from its sale. Firstly a community development at Lionel Road could result in a relaxing of the Social Housing stipulation; the replacement of Open Space would automatically satisfy the provisions within the Council's Unitary Development Plan and, most crucially, it would provide an alternative stadium site for the football club.

The development company contacted are well-established in the Home Counties, principally in the industrial and warehousing sector. They do however have experience of working with community developments, and have recently regenerated a school in North London. A development such as that being proposed at Lionel Road could raise their profile in the key area close to Heathrow Airport.

The next stage will be for the developers to make an economic evaluation of the scheme in conjunction with their fund managers. Following this they will want to meet with Council members and officers to see for themselves the depth of support for this scheme within the Local Authority.

Cllr Luke Kirton representing the supporter's political campaign, ABeeC, commented: "It has been a long hard slog to get to this point but with the full backing of the Hounslow Council officers and members we have managed to get this crucial breakthrough. There are still many obstacles to negotiate but with the continued co-operation between Bees United the Football Club, Hounslow Council and other interested parties we can make our dream a reality."

BIAS Committee member Dan Suh added: "like a number of people, I thought the Lionel Road proposals were a bit far-fetched at first and I have to say I was a bit sceptical. When you see the political support this is getting from the leadership of the Council, however, and the practical support from hard-nosed businessmen, it really does look as though this is just the sort of scheme whose time has come."

Speaking afterwards John McGlashan summed up the positive mood within Bees Utd: "It is well over a year now since we made the first attempts to ascertain whether Lionel Road was a suitable location for Brentford Football Club. During that time, especially last summer, the amount of effort put in by the supporters, the Local Authority, and Hounslow's MPs Ann and Alan Keen is very much appreciated by me, so when the developers told us they felt our proposals were workable, I was absolutely delighted. There are still some major hurdles to jump, but I do feel we are making real progress – I just wish these things didn't take so long! However, if taking our time gives us what we want, it is better than rushing things through and getting it wrong."

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