PEOPLE who are worried about plans for tower blocks surrounding the new Brentford FC stadium have voiced their concerns about how the area will be affected.
Eight residents’ associations and other community organisations have set out the reasons for their apprehension in a joint statement addressed to the football club.
The first proposals for a new stadium on a site off Lionel Road South, between Chiswick High Road and the M4, are due to be submitted next month. People living nearby are worried about the pressure that extra homes – which are needed to fund the stadium – will put on the area’s infrastructure, especially schools.
Pollution and the potential impact on the environment are also causes of concern for the groups as the site is surrounded by conservation areas including Gunnersbury Park, Kew Bridge Steam Museum, the Thames and, significantly, Kew Gardens.
Marie Rabouhans, chairwoman of West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society, said on behalf of the groups: “We feel very strongly that a relocation of the club must not be the justification for a development that would be harshly and permanently detrimental to its neighbours.
“We ask that the BFC reconsider its proposals so that any enabling development is appropriate for its location and consistent with the needs of the community.”
Brian Burgess, executive director for the Lionel Road development, welcomes the comments, saying they will be seriously considered as they modify and improve the plans.
He added: “These groups of residents have also requested the buildings be no more than seven storeys tall but this is just not feasible to pay for the stadium. However, we are trying to do everything we can to have a genuine consultation and will take into account the concerns of the residents.
“The club has been a good neighbour in Brentford for more than 100 years and we hope to continue being a good neighbour.”
The groups are: Brentford Community Council, Kew Residents Association, Kew Society, Friends of Stile Hall Gardens, Strand on the Green Association, West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society, West London River Group and Westerly Ware Association, Kew.
