LIONEL ROAD LIAISON GROUP JANUARY 2013 MEETING SUMMARY
Notes of the meeting held in the Sponsors Lounge, Griffin Park at 7pm 21 January 2013
Attendees: Mike Simson (MS, Friends of Stile Hall), Councillor John Ball (JB, Ealing Council), Kath Richardson (KR), Suzie Betlem (SB, Brentford Chamber of Commerce), Councillor Ruth Cadbury (RC), Keith Haines (KH, Hamilton Road RA), John Burgess (JB), Derek Collett (DC, Brentford Community Council), Philip Marchant (PM), Richard Merritt (RM, BIAS), Robert Colville (RC), Dorothy Boland (DB), Sonya Leadlay (SL1, SOGA) Marie Rabouhans (MR), Rob Hare (RH, West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society), Lou Valdini (LV, Grove Park Group), Caroline Brock (CB, Kew Society).
Project team: Brian Burgess (BB), Chris Gammon (CG), Steve Lancashire, Chair (SL), Patrick Kinsella (PK), David Ellis (DE), Ben Sykes (BS).
1.0 Welcome and Apologies
1.1 SL welcomed everybody to the meeting, particularly those attending for the first time: Lou Valdini, Caroline Brock and Keith Haines. He invited individuals to introduce themselves.
1.2 Apologies were received from;
– Cllr Steve Curran
– Cllr Matt Harmer
– Cllr Mel Collins
– Cllr Joanna Dobrowska
– Richard Gill
– John Ormsby
– Martin Tewkesbury
– Bella Cunha
2 .0 Notes of 1st October 2012 meeting
2.1 SL asked if there were any corrections or omissions to the notes of the previous meeting
2.2 The following corrections had been sent by MR via email:
- paragraph 5 refers to Richard Gill as Park Manager for Gunnersbury Park; his title is Development and Regeneration Manager.
- in paragraph 6.5 the additional Conservation Area to which reference was made is the Thorney Hedge CA which includes Thorney Hedge Road, Silver Crescent, the Gunnersbury public house and a range of other properties on the Chiswick High Road.
2.3 The notes were then accepted
3.0 Matters arising
3.1 There were no matters arising.
4.0 Terms of reference
4.1 There were no further revisions to the membership. SL was grateful for the new information on groups and individuals.
5.0 Project update
5.1 SL informed the group the main purpose of this meeting was to discuss Transport but there would first be a general project update. SL introduced BS who went through the exhibition boards, focussing on the urban planning and master design boards.
5.2 The following points were made and discussed
– The premise of the development, to make the whole scheme viable, is to sell the (now) four development sites plus Griffin Park to developers with outline planning permission and through these sales fund the new stadium.
– BS explained the outline planning permission would mean future developers would have to operate within certain parameters (e.g. height, density, design) set by the Council.
– When questioned on how the project will be affected if the Club cannot secure one of the sites they are currently negotiating on, BS emphasised that the project would still be viable but would be much more difficult to deliver – both in terms of efficiency and cost.
– An Environmental Impact Assessment will be required and one of the chapters will be on the visual impact of the development. It is accepted this is a tall and dense development and the visual impact on the surrounding area will have to be assessed.
– BS explained that the key views on show are not the only views the development will be assessed on, but they are designed to provide a rough guide on the visual impact of the development. Strand on the Green for example will be part of the formal visual assessment.
– At the moment the Lionel Road sites have over 900 apartments in the residential blocks and 150 hotel bedrooms. The Griffin Park site has outline permission for approximately 100 homes.
6.0 Transport update
6.1 SL then introduced DE who proceeded to give an update on the progress of the Transport matters and the studies being undertaken. He emphasised transport work is about 2 months into a 6 month work programme. He indicated that he had received many useful specific suggestions at the exhibition and encouraged local residents to continue to give advice on their perceptions of problems and ideas about solutions.
– DE said the current parking arrangements associated with the Lionel Road site will be split. In terms of club spaces, they will be in the east (near the proposed new bridge).
– The residential spaces will not have access in and out of the developments in the short periods before and after the football, this likely to mean no access c. 20mins before the game and c. 35mins after the game.
– DE explained how people travel on match days now – this information is based on a 2006 survey. There will be some more surveys undertaken in February. The main changes as a result of the stadium being on the new site will be the tube use, for all fans. Overall, it is expected there will be a similar number of cars (but more people within the cars). There will be a much more gradual arrival because of the more corporate feel and refreshment offer within the ground, but the departures are expected to remain roughly the same.
– DE then showed a slide with the expected travel of the residents. New residents use of transport is shown. The estimates are that new residents will use cars for c. 30% of trips.
– Based on the initial transport mode splits and the destinations of the expected travel of home and away fans, DE expects 2,500 will use Kew Bridge Station, 3,500 will use Gunnersbury Park and 1,500 will use Acton Town. All the numbers in the estimates are based on a 20,000 capacity crowd. One of the benefits of moving to the Lionel Road site is that more stations on the Underground are closer to the ground.
– On Saturdays the usage flow at Gunnersbury Park Station is much lower than the weekday peak. Taking into account how many people the stadium will add, the weekend peak will reach the same level as the weekday peak. This is within capacity of the station so there will be no extra strain on the network.
– The work on the bus networks has only just started; DE has taken specific suggestions from the public exhibition.
– There are also plans to narrow Lionel Road South. Additionally the Club will also be providing a crossing into the site.
– Through the transport surveys the Club are trying to ascertain the areas where people will be trying to park. There are many variables which affect parking. For example, if there are ‘blockers’ (rivers, arterial roads, railway lines) people re-evaluate how they travel and begin to favour public transport. This is more likely to occur at Lionel Road because the stations are closer than they are to Griffin Park.
– DE explained he is looking into commercial parking spaces on the A4,which are underused at weekends.
– The number of cars which will park on the street will not be that much greater than current levels but the areas will be different.
– On Controlled Parking Zones DE explained the Club cannot the force Council to have them. It is dependent on the resident’s wishes as well. DE then showed how controlled parking zones would work and referred to examples at Fulham and Arsenal.
– After a match it is expected there to be 20mins or so where Lionel Road will become closed. It is not expected Capital Interchange Way will – there may be some diversion on this route.
– Residential traffic flows would be about 1-2% more than the existing AM-PM peaks. The research into this is ongoing.
7.0 Comments
– Comment: At Gunnersbury station the issue is not capacity but is the narrow entrance. For midweek evening matches there will be commuters leaving from the Chiswick Business Park and the supporters coming to the game. This must be addressed.
– Question: Would people visiting the Steam Museum have to join the queue of the football fans? Answer: Yes, the main station entrance will be shut.
– Question: can you research how long people will be hanging around before and after the game. Answer: The stadium has to be designed to clear in 8 minutes, but it isn’t possible to provide an exact answer of how long we expect spectators to remain after the game.
– Question: what is the number of cars expected? Answer: 2,000, the current number of cars is 1,800.
– Comment: If you force people away from the Kew Bridge they will go down Stile Hall Gardens. Chiswick High Road is very dangerous as it is; you should close off Stile Hall Gardens and Wellesley Road to deter crowds.
– Comment: Kew Bridge platforms are narrow and very low – this is continually being ignored by Network Rail, it needs to be addressed for everyone’s safety.
– Comment: You also need to accommodate cyclists – there are fears for their safety because on a match day if cyclists have to cycle near fans walking to the stadium there is the potential for reckless behaviour.
– Question: How much footfall are you anticipating on Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens?Answer: We haven’t got these figures yet. It is about making the controlled route the most attractive route as possible. It is about making our preferred routes as attractive as we can.
– Comment: As a “good neighbour” can you look into areas around the site where you could improve the state of affairs? There must be some things that you can look at to fix on a daily basis.
– Question: How many people on each day attended the exhibitions? Answer: Thursday: 104, Friday: 40, Saturday: 159
7.0 AOB
7.1 From the floor: could we discuss the impact on the sewage system. SL explained the next meeting would be focussed on sustainability which would address this question.
8.0 Date of the next meeting and exhibitions
8.1 Agreed as Monday 18th March 2013, 7 – 9pm
8.2 The dates suggested for the next exhibition were the 21st, 22nd and 23rd March. The Club will try to hold the Saturday morning exhibition at the Fountain Leisure Centre.
Januaryu
— 01 January 2013 at 2:10 –LIONEL ROAD LIAISON GROUP JANUARY 2013 MEETING AGENDA
LIONEL ROAD LIAISON GROUP
21st January 2013 @ 7pm
Venue: Griffin Park (Main entrance in Braemar Road)
AGENDA
- 1. Welcome and apologies
- 2. Membership: to highlight any amendments or additions
- 3. Project update: Brian Burgess to introduce exhibition boards (to follow later this week)
- 4. Transport: Dave Ellis to outline current position on transport and parking matters
- 5. Any other business
- 6. Date of next meeting