At the end of January a meeting took place between the Stragetic Rail Authority (SRA) and representatives from Hounslow Council. There the local authority argued Bees United's case for a community development at Lionel Road; our preferred site for a new stadium for Brentford FC.
Having heard these arguments, the SRA nevertheless confirmed that they expect to complete the sale of the land to another party, as they believe that this process is too far advanced for a change in direction. They have spent a considerable sum of money, including solving drainage problems, bringing the site up to an acceptable standard for a sale, and would suffer financial penalties if they now withdrew.
Despite this apparent setback, our interest in the site is far from over. The buyer is a development group with a wide portfolio, who do not want the site in the long term, but simply to develop and sell on. Contact has been made with this company, and there are genuine grounds for optimism that a meaningful partnership can be forged between them and Bees United.
An initial meeting between the two parties has already been arranged, and will take place shortly. We see no reason why these developers would not be interested in amending their proposals to include a stadium on the Lionel Road site and we are optimistic there will soon be something positive to report.
Whilst Lionel Road is still the preferred option for Bees United we recognise the need to keep our options open on the subject of a new stadium site for the football club and support the Board's initiative in continuing to progress the Feltham Arena site.