Fair Play for Club Grounds

[Bronco]

Can't beat Bedfont Sports in my opinion. Everything from the playing and spectating point of view. Haven't tried the burgers though!

[E&E Rich]

I would go for the Cove burgers every time as a first choice but Windsor's are good too!

 

As for a viewpoint, Westfield's is hard to beat. We'd love to have such a helpful council.  

 

Nicest ground, regrettably has to be Sutton's as it was Step Two standard this season. Of the "proper" Step Five grounds it is Windsor.

 

Not such a fan of Bedfont Sports personally, even though we've never lost there which can sometimes cloud judgement, I admit! I won't go down the old road about massive grant help.

 

As traditional grounds go, Hartley, Chertsey and Camberley are proper venues. Yeah, sure Hartley failed the grading but who really thinks that a hedge being replaced is vital, although I accept a turnstile block might be required in this day and age. I'd much rather they opened a fourth end up. On that subject, I like Hanworth Villa too, although closing the far end is extremely disappointing for us behind the goal dwellers. Standing in the woods to watch a match is somewhat unusual but I really enjoyed doing that and it's not the same watching from a side.

 

This three sided issue counts against Farnham too but we always get a great welcome there. I'm not a fan of going in the board room after many games, but I would go in there, and to Ashford too who are very pleasant people, even if some of their fans aren't!

 

If I had to choose one ground above all others in the CCL to visit it would be Camberley's. Tradition, character, welcome and nice food and beer in equal measure. They just need to sort that M3 out now with it's "smart" motorway system!

[aupostie]

Last part of the sentence is very true Rother. Still feeling so grumpy I am thinking of taking up a groundsman post just down the road !

Nobody told me i was being replaced

[Big J R]

Nobody told me i was being replaced

 

 

The important people are usually the last to know !!

[nosher]

I would go for the Cove burgers every time as a first choice but Windsor's are good too!

 

As for a viewpoint, Westfield's is hard to beat. We'd love to have such a helpful council.

 

Nicest ground, regrettably has to be Sutton's as it was Step Two standard this season. Of the "proper" Step Five grounds it is Windsor.

 

Not such a fan of Bedfont Sports personally, even though we've never lost there which can sometimes cloud judgement, I admit! I won't go down the old road about massive grant help.

 

As traditional grounds go, Hartley, Chertsey and Camberley are proper venues. Yeah, sure Hartley failed the grading but who really thinks that a hedge being replaced is vital, although I accept a turnstile block might be required in this day and age. I'd much rather they opened a fourth end up. On that subject, I like Hanworth Villa too, although closing the far end is extremely disappointing for us behind the goal dwellers. Standing in the woods to watch a match is somewhat unusual but I really enjoyed doing that and it's not the same watching from a side.

 

This three sided issue counts against Farnham too but we always get a great welcome there. I'm not a fan of going in the board room after many games, but I would go in there, and to Ashford too who are very pleasant people, even if some of their fans aren't!

 

If I had to choose one ground above all others in the CCL to visit it would be Camberley's. Tradition, character, welcome and nice food and beer in equal measure. They just need to sort that M3 out now with it's "smart" motorway system!

I know we don't always see eye to eye but I'd like you to take this in the good faith it is meant. So, what is stopping E&E applying for grants? Is it the lack of council support? Is there scope for you to work with Epsom Athletic?

 

Whenever I'm over that neck of the woods, there seems to be a vast expanse of potentially suitable space on that road between Epsom and Chessington world of adventures. Is there nowhere in that area that could potentially be developed?

 

As we know, it's all the rage now to talk about inclusiveness of gender, ability and age. I'd love to see all CCL clubs get a proper pitch and become focal points for sports and fitness in their areas. Would the council be receptive to allowing you that land if you were willing to share with schools and other sports?

 

I really mean the above so please don't look for any ulterior motive other than a genuine desire to see all of our clubs be the best.

[Big J R]

Nobody told me i was being replaced

 

 

Probably won't be long now !!!! 

Edited May 5, 2016 by Big J R

[Windsor_Sec]

Nobody told me i was being replaced

 

Being replaced is the least of your worries, I'd be more concerned about Krooner feeling Grumpy       

[PJFarn]

No wonder the game is dying at this level.

It will die if people don't pay to come in and watch. 

[Chris Clapham]

It will die if people don't pay to come in and watch. 

 

I wouldn't say Ryman North and South are much better crowd wise bar the odd exceptions. Hardly the promised land. BACK THE CCL!

Edited May 5, 2016 by Chris Clapham

[Beano_ATMFC]

I know we don't always see eye to eye but I'd like you to take this in the good faith it is meant. So, what is stopping E&E applying for grants? Is it the lack of council support? Is there scope for you to work with Epsom Athletic?

 

Whenever I'm over that neck of the woods, there seems to be a vast expanse of potentially suitable space on that road between Epsom and Chessington world of adventures. Is there nowhere in that area that could potentially be developed?

 

As we know, it's all the rage now to talk about inclusiveness of gender, ability and age. I'd love to see all CCL clubs get a proper pitch and become focal points for sports and fitness in their areas. Would the council be receptive to allowing you that land if you were willing to share with schools and other sports?

 

I really mean the above so please don't look for any ulterior motive other than a genuine desire to see all of our clubs be the best.

 

As someone with a little experience in securing grants for my own club (albeit at nowhere near the level that Bedfont Sports have secured over the years and more power to Sports for their achievements in that area), I can tell you that bodies like the Football Foundation won't even talk to clubs unless they have two things:

 

1) A 10+ year lease on their ground (or the freehold of the site)

2) Planning Permission for the project being funded

 

That pretty much stops Epsom & Ewell applying for any sort of funding at the moment. They don't have a viable site, so they can't go through planning.

 

Council support is also vital with major projects. Hounslow Council are clearly happy for Bedfont Sports to keep developing the Recreation Ground, which means that obtaining Planning Permission is less difficult for them than many other clubs. Meanwhile, when I approached Spelthorne Council about extending the toilet block at the Robert Parker Stadium so that Ashford could replace the changing rooms (which, in turn would have facilitated a revamp of the clubhouse), Spelthorne said "you already have changing rooms. Why do you want new ones?" They also pointed out that the ground is in the Green Belt and asked if, to prevent over-development of said Green Belt, we would agree to "knock something else down" to get the changing rooms. The planners were oblivious to the fact that knocking anything down would mean that we failed the ground grading and were working almost in opposition with their own Leisure Services Department, who tried to support the club's plans.

 

If Epsom & Ewell Council take a similar view to Spelthorne's Planning Department when it comes to the development of sports grounds then its no wonder the Salts are still in exile. And don't even get me started on Legal, who held up one grant for so long by refusing to agree to a simple variation of the lease that the funding was nearly withdrawn...

[nosher]

Thnaks Beano. Very informative and depressing in equal measures.

[E&E Rich]

As someone with a little experience in securing grants for my own club (albeit at nowhere near the level that Bedfont Sports have secured over the years and more power to Sports for their achievements in that area), I can tell you that bodies like the Football Foundation won't even talk to clubs unless they have two things:

 

1) A 10+ year lease on their ground (or the freehold of the site)

2) Planning Permission for the project being funded

 

That pretty much stops Epsom & Ewell applying for any sort of funding at the moment. They don't have a viable site, so they can't go through planning.

 

Council support is also vital with major projects. Hounslow Council are clearly happy for Bedfont Sports to keep developing the Recreation Ground, which means that obtaining Planning Permission is less difficult for them than many other clubs. Meanwhile, when I approached Spelthorne Council about extending the toilet block at the Robert Parker Stadium so that Ashford could replace the changing rooms (which, in turn would have facilitated a revamp of the clubhouse), Spelthorne said "you already have changing rooms. Why do you want new ones?" They also pointed out that the ground is in the Green Belt and asked if, to prevent over-development of said Green Belt, we would agree to "knock something else down" to get the changing rooms. The planners were oblivious to the fact that knocking anything down would mean that we failed the ground grading and were working almost in opposition with their own Leisure Services Department, who tried to support the club's plans.

 

If Epsom & Ewell Council take a similar view to Spelthorne's Planning Department when it comes to the development of sports grounds then its no wonder the Salts are still in exile. And don't even get me started on Legal, who held up one grant for so long by refusing to agree to a simple variation of the lease that the funding was nearly withdrawn...

Thanks for that Beano, I can confirm to nosher that we do face many similar issues to that which are listed above.

 

With one exception. Although I am critical of our Council for making absolutely no effort to help over the years, they have only turned down planning permission once, in the mid-nineties on a site we had purchased on the Banstead Road between Ewell and Banstead. It failed on floodlights, but due to improvements I'm sure it wouldn't fail now. Timing eh! 

 

We only made one other request of the council in 2001 when the Council approved it prima facie (on the face of it - in theory). The only problem was that we didn't actually own the piece of land and in the end the Health Authority wouldn't sell it to us. It is now the David Lloyd Centre over the back of Epsom, near where the old hospitals used to be.

 

We have been advised that to obtain grants we require a security of tenure exceeding 25 years in length. To get that we need to confirm a site and that is where the problem really lies. There is not much actual land available in the Borough an believe me we've looked at almost every bit. Either it is green belt, common land or private land owned by someone else and therefore out of our price range.

 

It's not all bad news though. We have not exhausted our search entirely yet and hope to have some positive news by the start of the new season. Personally, and for reasons that I cannot go into here, I am not totally convinced that the potential answer is positive enough to secure our future beyond 25 years and hope we can secure an alternative plan.

 

Finally, I suggested at an AGM a few years back that we approached Epsom Athletic with a view to a merger under the new name of Epsom & Ewell Borough. The Borough is too small for two clubs in my opinion and I felt we should at least find out whether this was an idea worth pursuing. What I didn't realise that the time was that we did or maybe even had approached them by then, but they wished to retain their own identity, which we respect entirely.

 

Obviously in the event we were able to secure a site and then build on it, I am sure that an approach would be made to Epsom Athletic for a ground share option that would at least bring them into the Borough too. Personally, (my view only, as our club would not make comment on something like this yet) I feel a ground share rental would be more beneficial to us than a reserve or even a youth policy at this stage and so maybe one day in the not too distant future this question might even be asked.

[Jellybean]

It will die if people don't pay to come in and watch. 

Well your turnstiles will be down around 40 quid this season mate !!!!!

[Krooner]

Well your turnstiles will be down around 40 quid this season mate !!!!!

That is a shame because you disagree with one person that has expressed their opinion.  If I did that I wouldn't go to any of our home games or away games either !!

 

It is a real tough one.  We have a hardcore of people who would watch the game from outside the ground and then come in for free at half time.  On a couple of occasions we kept the gates shut and I am not sure any of them came in.  I wonder what we would have done if one of them had come up and said "I could only get here at half time please let me in" what we would have done.

 

It is a tricky situation.

 

We have tried to make it harder to watch the games outside thanks to 2 local companies who have lent us banners for free to block the view.

 

Personally I would open the gates at half time.

 

I presume you also will not be going to Hartley again ? 

[nosher]

Just charge a nominal £1 at HT if the principle matters that much. At the end of the day these people have missed 45 minutes of football. If they are that tight then they can PO but once you have a quid they might go and buy a drink. £2 is better than £0.

[Jellybean]

That is a shame because you disagree with one person that has expressed their opinion.  If I did that I wouldn't go to any of our home games or away games either !!

 

It is a real tough one.  We have a hardcore of people who would watch the game from outside the ground and then come in for free at half time.  On a couple of occasions we kept the gates shut and I am not sure any of them came in.  I wonder what we would have done if one of them had come up and said "I could only get here at half time please let me in" what we would have done.

 

It is a tricky situation.

 

We have tried to make it harder to watch the games outside thanks to 2 local companies who have lent us banners for free to block the view.

 

Personally I would open the gates at half time.

 

I presume you also will not be going to Hartley again ? 

Absolutely I shall not be giving Hartley any more money on the turnstiles or refreshments again.  I will also be very careful which games I go to this year in fact, indeed if any as my kind  can now watch them in the local park for free so I am informed !! . Nosher is quite right in that a minimal charge could be applied for the second half, which I would have no problem with. The inference from here was that I was trying to dodge paying and not coming into the ground until the second half without the accuser knowing the facts is what I am annoyed about. I had already spent gate money for the family, bought bacon rolls and refreshments at Westfield earlier that day and was trying to race over and lend my support to another big game, Which incidentally had been arranged to kick off to clash with other matches, hence I could not get there at KO. Being such a big game it would have made more sense to kick off at 3pm to allow many of us that had other fixtures that day to attend. Then to be charged full whack again was frankly bloody annoying and expensive and in hindsight I should have just refused and gone away. However my loyalty to this league shone through and grudgingly I stumped up for my family for the second time that day. Had Hartley said it was a couple of quid to come in it would not have been an issue but to charge full rate to watch 35 mins of football was frankly a piss take in my eyes.  As I missed the first half does that entitle me to half my money back ?? I am sure a good solicitor would have no problems in sorting that one for me lol.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Jellybean

[Chris Clapham]

Wibbandune pitch this weekend. 

 

http://wibbandune.simplesite.com/

[duncs]

Jellybean you and your family are more than welcome at Cove,please don't be put off by this experience as i'm sure it won't happen again,your opinion and match reports are highly respected by all of us and i for one would miss your contributions,please go to all of the grounds you have mentioned previously cos thats where we normally bump into each other, i am sure they will look after you after this bad experience, these clubs obviously have had some bad situations with the same people trying to get in for free everyweek,as i said you and the Mrs. are more than welcome at Cove as i know you always pay your way and more.  

[Big J R]

Wibbandune pitch this weekend. 

 

http://wibbandune.simplesite.com/

 

 

Looking very nice, Chris.

 

I'd love to show a piccy of Meadowbank, but to date, it's still just a wasteland !!

[Jellybean]

Jellybean you and your family are more than welcome at Cove,please don't be put off by this experience as i'm sure it won't happen again,your opinion and match reports are highly respected by all of us and i for one would miss your contributions,please go to all of the grounds you have mentioned previously cos thats where we normally bump into each other, i am sure they will look after you after this bad experience, these clubs obviously have had some bad situations with the same people trying to get in for free everyweek,as i said you and the Mrs. are more than welcome at Cove as i know you always pay your way and more.  

Thanks mate, I will probably be there in reality but I just copped over silly comments made on here by someone who knows nothing about me. Looking forward to a beer at Cove next season and wishing you guys well for the coming season.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Jellybean