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Arsenal win appeal over fans’ coach parking
ARSENAL Football Club have won a battle to park supporters’ coaches in the streets around the Emirates Stadium to the dismay of neighbours who fear matchday noise and congestion outside their homes.
Planning inspector William Cunningham ruled on Monday that the club can park coaches at the Sobell Centre, Hornsey Road and Drayton Park.
The decision came after Arsenal took the issue to a planning inquiry, appealing against the verdict of Islington’s councillors to curb coach parking.
Mr Cunningham said 14 coaches can park at Arsenal’s Queensland Road development, with a further 18 at the Sobell. Up to 11 can be parked on Hornsey Street and eight in Drayton Park, but on condition these two streets are only used twice each year.
He suggested none of the sites should be used more than they are at present.
But Mr Cunningham added the caveat that the streets could be used more often if the Met Police decided they were needed for safety or security reasons. The decision, he said, stands for three years.
Music teacher George Black, who lives in Thane Villas close to the Sobell Centre, said: “In an ideal world all the coaches should be parked on Arsenal land all the time. I was hoping we’d be free of the coaches. The problem is the vibrating engines they leave on for up to six hours, the noise and the stench of the fumes. We’ll just keep on fighting.”
Mr Black has presented an alternative plan to the council suggesting coaches should first be parked in Queensland Road, then in designated spaces at the Sobell, close to Hornsey Road and away from residential homes, with any overspill at Finsbury Park. He added: “That way no coaches will be parked on any residential streets.”
Labour councillor Phil Kelly, who chaired the east area planning committee, which turned down Arsenal’s application, said: “As far as I can see, there’s no limit to the use of the Sobell Centre which is disappointing for the people of Thane Villas. Obviously, it is a car park but coach parking is disturbing. The decision is a disappointment.”
But Lib Dem Highbury East ward councillor John Gilbert said the decision was a victory for Drayton Park, adding: “This is as good a result as we could hope for. A maximum of two occasions a year on which coaches will be parked on Drayton Park is a good result for residents.”
Arsenal coaches deal goes ahead
ARSENAL Football Club has been told it can continue to park coaches in residential streets after striking a secret deal with Islington Council.
Planning inspector William Cunningham this week ruled in favour of the club, which asked for permission to park coaches in Hornsey Street, Drayton Park and at the Sobell Centre, even though councillors on the east area planning committee had already rejected the application.
The Tribune revealed last month how the club held backroom talks with council officers, and Town Hall chief executive John Foster approved an agreement overruling councillors hours before Arsenal appealed against the committee’s decision at a planning inquiry.
The final decision then lay with Mr Cunningham, who was told by a barrister for the Town Hall that the council would no longer oppose the club.
The inspector, who accepted the coaches caused problems for neighbours, ruled that they should be parked in Hornsey Road and Drayton Park only twice a year, on rotation. But exceptions could be made for safety or security reasons, with decisions left to the police after consulting the council. He insisted the new arrangements should stand for only three years as the club may be able to find a more suitable solution in future.
In his report, Mr Cunningham, referring to Sobell Centre, Hornsey Street and Drayton Park, said: “My observations have led me to the view that use of these sites for coach parking could be expected to impinge on residential amenity, particularly through visual impact, noise and disturbance.
“If strictly controlled by stewards, a requirement that is however difficult to enforce, it is likely noise and disturbance from coach engines and from the disembarkation of passengers could to some extent be mitigated but not eliminated.”
He said continued use should be on the basis that it was “little different” from the last three seasons, and for a limited period.
The coach parking problem arose when the stadium opened three years ago. Original stadium designs included space for 40 coaches. But police told the club that coaches could not be parked under the stadium for security reasons, leaving Arsenal with the problem of finding space for 40 coaches elsewhere in Islington.
There will be space for 23 coaches in Queensland Road, 18 at Sobell Centre, eight in Drayton Park and 11 in Hornsey Road. Once redevelopment of Queensland Road begins, only 14 coaches will be able to park.
Residents have complained that coaches bring anti-social fans who use gardens as litter bins and toilets. |
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