Story so far

Brentford FC has been at Griffin Park for over 100 years, but the existing stadium is antiquated and lacks the facilities to generate revenue from hospitality on match days and other uses on non-match days, which the Club needs to become more sustainable.

Key milestones:

  • 2001 – Brentford FC Community Society Ltd supporters trust (Bees United) was formed.
  • 2002 – Bees United identified Lionel Road South as the only possible site in Brentford for a new stadium.
  • 2003 – Bees United took operational control of Brentford FC.
  • 2006 – Bees United took ownership of the Club, with financial assistance from its own supporters, Hounslow Borough Council (loan since repaid), and long-term supporter, businessman Matthew Benham. A study by planning consultants Indigo of potential stadium sites concluded that Lionel Road was the only possible brownfield site in the area.
  • 2007 – Brentford FC (Lionel Road) Ltd was formed to develop the new stadium project, and reached agreement with Barratt Homes as a development partner.
  • 2008 – Barratt’s bought a 7.6 acre site at Lionel Road South, and began to develop a combined stadium and residential scheme.
  • 2009 – Bees United and Matthew Benham entered a five year partnership, whereby he invested significant capital in Brentford FC with the option of becoming owner if the supporters trust did not wish to repay his investment.
  • 2010/2011 – the stadium development project was put on hold in because of the economic and financial climate.
  • 2012 – Bees United brought forward its option, enabling Matthew Benham to purchase a controlling shareholding in the Club. Bees United retained a golden share. Matthew Benham injected further capital into the Club to purchase land for the new stadium and fund a planning application.
  • June 2012 – Brentford FC purchased the land at Lionel Road South from Barratt Homes.
  • November 2012 – the Brentford FC Board approved a proposed new Stadium development scheme.
  • May 2013 – the Club submitted a planning application for the scheme to Hounslow Borough Council.
  • December 2013 – the Council’s Planning Committee passed a resolution granting the Club permission for its planning application, subject to referral to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and and Local Government (DCLG), and conclusion of a formal planning agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
  • The application was for detailed permission to build a 20,000 capacity new stadium, new expanded facilities for the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, and other community facilities and associated infrastructure, together with outline permission for a hotel, supporting retail facilities, and 910 residential units. (Outline planning permission for the redevelopment of Brentford FC’s present ground at Griffin Park was already in place and had been extended in March 2012. Griffin Park was not, therefore, part of the 2013 planning application, though it is part of the overall development scheme, and is essential to its viability).
  • A public exhibition was held by the Club in May 2013 as part of the public consultation relating to the 2013 planning application.
  • February 2014 – the Mayor of London’s office at the Greater London Authority endorsed the Council’s December 2013 decision, and in March 2014 it was confirmed by the Planning Minister at DCLG.
  • June 2014 – Brentford FC and Hounslow Council signed a Section 106 Planning Agreement, which enabled the Council to issue the formal planning permission.
  • December 2014 – Brentford FC signed an agreement with the developer, Willmott Dixon, under which the Club will contribute the land at Lionel Road South, Willmott Dixon will design and build the 910 residential units, and Willmott Dixon will use a specialist contractor (the Buckingham Group) to build the stadium.
  • When the new Stadium is complete, Brentford FC will relocate to it, and will transfer Griffin Park to Willmott Dixon. When Griffin Park is developed, Willmott Dixon will develop the Duffy site, on the western side of Lionel Road South as the final phase of the project.
  • January 2015 – the Duffy site (the Old Coal Yard) was bought by Brentford FC.The previous owner, the Duffy Group, has moved to new premises in the Borough, and the site was then used by Quattro UK Ltd on a temporary basis, adjacent to its business facilities on the main part of the Lionel Road South site.
  • May 2015 – Brentford FC signed an overarching, commercial agreement with Network Rail to work together to enable the development scheme to be delivered.
  • September 2015 – Willmott Dixon was granted detailed planning permission (“reserved matters”) for the redevelopment of Griffin Park, including the building of 75 new townhouses.
  • December 2015 – Willmott Dixon’s private residential arm, Prime Place, secured detailed planning permission from Hounslow Council for 648 new homes on the Lionel Road site. The homes will be in seven new residential buildings on the Capital Court, Central Eastern, and Central Southern sites, and will be a mix of one, two and three bedroom appartments, 304 of which will be for private sale, and 344 for private rental through Willmott Dixon’s private rental sector company, be:here.
  • Public consultations, including exhibitions in April 2015 and May 2015, were held in relation to both 2015 planning applications. The application excluded the Duffy site, which will deliver the other 262 appartments, and for which detailed planning permission will need to be sought by Willmott Dixon in due course.
  • The new Stadium development scheme with planning permission covers 11.7 acres. It includes land which the Club, despite negotiations with the landowner, does not yet own, and which is required to complete site assembly. The land is included within the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) being progressed by the London Borough of Hounslow.
  • April 2016 – the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; the Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP, approved the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the land required for the new Brentford Community Stadium project.
  • September 2016 – The London Borough of Hounslow completed the Compulsory Purchase Order by acquiring the land required to deliver this project.
  • Ongoing – until the move to its new Stadium, the Club will continue to upgrade facilities at Griffin Park  for players and supporters as needed (and its training ground in Jersey Road, Osterley). Among the changes, new floodlights have been installed, as has a more efficient drainage system with a new pitch, a new family area created, and an improved ticketing system.