Giving Orient fans a voice
Leyton Orient Fans' Trust
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LOFT attends London Football Forum
9/7/2003

Earlier this week, representatives of LOFT attended the London Football Forum, which was held by the London Assembly's Culture, Sport & Tourism Committee. The forum was held to discuss responses to its 'Away from Home' report into London's football stadiums (the full report, which includes recommendations and some suggested best practice, can be downloaded from the London Assembly's website in PDF format or in RTF format).

The report was prompted by Wimbledon FC's decision to move to Milton Keynes, and looks at ways to prevent other clubs "doing a Wimbledon". The forum was attended by representatives of several clubs and supporters' organisations, as well as Transport for London and Paul Barber from the FA. Some interesting facts came out of the discussion, including:

  • There are over 50 clubs in the London area with their own stadia;
  • Eight out of the twelve London Premiership and Football League clubs are currently looking to redevelop or relocate;
  • Charlton's ground, The Valley, is a police-free stadium thanks to CCTV and various safety measures.

Leyton Orient were exceptionally well-represented at the forum; apart from the LOFT representatives in the 'audience', the club's chief executive Steve Dawson sat on the first panel with Mike Kelly, the Head of Planning at Waltham Forest council. They talked about the club's recent planning application, which took only 17 weeks from submission to it being accepted (a fact that seemed to draw the envy of the representatives of Fulham, Brentford and Arsenal, all of whom have had their share of recent troubles regarding ground redevelopments!).

The key to Orient's application being successful seemed to be the two years of preparation and the rapport between the club and the council. Not only were conflicts regarding the level of social housing ironed out between the council's planning and residential departments, but also the council itself views it as important to keep Leyton Orient FC at the Brisbane Road site, as a lot is done locally by the club.

The committee chair, Meg Hillier AM (whose Assembly remit covers Leyton), felt that the way in which the club had gone about the planning process was a model for the future for other clubs. Also, as was revealed by Giles Dolphin, the Planning Decisions Manager of the London Assembly's Planning Decisions Unit, Orient's plans were given full and total support by Mayor Ken Livingstone. The mayor is consulted on all such developments, and he believes that football stadiums are good for London. Not surprisingly, this view found favour with all present!

The involvement of fans in redevelopments was highlighted several times. Brentford's chairman, Eddie Rogers, talked about the importance of the involvement Brentford's trust now has with the club, while they continue to look to relocate from Griffin Park. During the night's second panel, Dave Boyle from Supporters Direct also stressed the importance of working with Trusts, revealing that the number of Trusts formed has now reached the 100 mark, with another two currently being formed.

A full transcript of the meeting is now available on the London Assembly's site here.





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