Harry Potter And The Valley Expansion

No, not the title of JK Rowling's new book but a good yarn nonetheless about Greenwich Council's approval of the clubs planning application. Except in this case Harry Potter is vanquished by his nasty, evil opponent which has apparently been riding roughshod over all and sundry. The following is an account of the proceedings by Mr Rick Everitt as posted on the netaddicks messageboard by the esteemed Mr Henry Irving :

Greenwich Council's planning board has granted permission for the club to extend the east stand, despite accusations from residents and councillors that the club is a "lousy neighbour".

Two councillors - David Grant (Lab, Greenwich West) and Harry Potter(Lib Dem, Middle Park and Sutcliffe) voted against the application -while Dermot Poston (Con, Eltham North) and John Wakefield (Lab,Glyndon) abstained, shortly after 11pm at Woolwich Town Hall.

Charlton residents, staff and supporters had to wait for two hour and 20minutes while the planning board considered an application to convert the former Well Hall Coronet cinema into a supermarket and community centre, before discussions on the Valley plan finally commenced at 9.20pm.

Councillors expressed concerns about the reliability of the club's green travel plan and expressed scepticism about club's claims of its effectsto date. They challenged the club's description of Holborn College as providing community use and criticised the height of the proposed living wall to screen Charlton Lane residents from the bulk of the new stand.

Despite an extensive consultation process, only 38 objections had been received to the scheme, which would increase capacity at The Valley to 30,900. Around 20 residents were present to protest in person and they accused the club of consistently breaking its promises over previous developments, as well as "breathtaking impertinence" in proposing the living wall. One resident said that his amenities were being "sacrificed on the altar of commercial ambition".

Residents complained about breaches of the construction codes agreed over the north stand, including early morning lorry deliveries and work outside permitted hours. A representative of the Charlton Society complained that a minority of fans urinated in the streets and Cllr Grant claimed that Charlton became "a giant public loo" after matches.Recent subsidence problems in Harvey Gardens were also linked by residents to the north stand development. It was suggested that season tickets should include local public transport journeys to discourage car use.

One residents said Charlton fans should be made to park at theMillennium Dome, a proposal specifically opposed by the council because they do not want additional traffic on the Greenwich Peninsula.

But arguments about loss of sunlight to gardens behind the east stand were undermined by detailed drawings showing that there would be only minimal additional effect because the morning shadow was caused by the Charlton Lane houses themselves and after a marginal late afternoon effect the sun disappeared behind the existing west stand already.

For the club, consultant Richard Arnold explained that delivery timings for heavy loads were controlled by the Metropolitan Police who would only permit movement through the Blackwall Tunnel in the early hours of the morning. The living wall had been introduced because residents had told the club they supported it and had been successfully introduced at The Oval and at Wimbledon, but it could be withdrawn if they now opposed it. He explained the introduction of Valley Express and the contribution it made to reducing car travel to the ground.

Assistant to the chief executive Steve Sutherland denied that the club was a bad neighbour and stressed its need to expand its capacity in order to compete, while South of England trust chief executive Steve Waggott outlined the community work being done by the club and the plans to enhance it using the space created in the new east stand.

Cllr Potter said that while recognising the positive aspects of the club's activities he would not support the application as "residents have suffered enough". He accused the club of "concrete brutalism" and said that even the addition of a few hundred extra cars around the ground, should the green travel plan fail, would be "insufferable".

Cllr Grant said that although he recognised the club's contribution to the community, his experience as a former Charlton councillor made him sceptical about trusting the club's promises. He thought the officers' report recommending approval was "hopelessly optimistic" and contained "absurd" opinions about parking and traffic.

Councillors supported residents in demanding that the club finance public toilets in Charlton Village, pay for an extended controlled parking zone, finance the development of a "home zone" in Floyd Road and Harvey Gardens to improve the amenities of residents and pay for an enforcement team to ensure the builders did not breach agreements during construction, as well as seeking stringent enforcement of the green travel plan. These matters will be controlled through a binding Section106 agreement, which the committee will itself have to approve, in effect making the permission conditional on a further decision.

Well, only 38 objections received and only 20 residents actually there to hear the debate. Hardly a revolt is it. So permission given and a £1m grant already received from the European Regional Development Fund. Let's get to work drumming up the support necessary to fill it.

So all that's left to say is a big welcome to Kelly Youga, a free transfer signing from Lyon.