FOOTBALL GROUND DEVELOPMENTS IN LONDON – KATHRYN BATE

Kathryn Bate is an environmental consultant at Groundsure. In this blog, Kathryn discusses how football clubs in London are including new housing developments in the redevelopment or relocation of their stadiums. If you have any questions about this blog, you can contact the commercial consultancy team at [email protected].

With property prices in London increasing and space at a premium, a number of football clubs have included new housing developments within their plans to redevelop or relocate their grounds. This gives fans, who are willing to pay premium property prices, a chance to live close to their club (1).

Research conducted by Halifax in 2013 found homes located near a Premier League football ground were rising in value faster the national rate. Wider regeneration of the local area often occurs alongside the redevelopment of a ground, including the improvement of transport links (2), which can support the increase in value. In addition, research published in 2011, focusing on Wembley Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in North London, found house prices increased within 5km of the development from the time the stadium plans were announced (3).

Here are just a small number of examples of football clubs in London redeveloping their grounds with housing included in the plans.

Chelsea FC, West London

Apartment buildings within Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge complex have proved popular and have shown that residential dwellings around a busy football stadium can be successful (1). When the club redeveloped their Shed End stand back in the late 1990s, they also developed what was known as the ‘Chelsea Village’, which included apartments, shops and a hotel.

The club are keep to expand the capacity of their current stadium, with a planning application submitted to Hammersmith and Fulham Council in November 2015, however further residential dwellings were not included in this new application for ground expansion (4). The £500m stadium development was approved by the Mayor of London in March 2017 (5) and as part of the agreement Chelsea will pay towards housing improvements in the local area.

Brentford FC, West London

Brentford Football Club were granted planning permission for a new ground by Hounslow Council in December 2013, which was subsequently approved by the Mayor of London and the government in February and March 2014 (6). The development of their new ground on Lionel Road South near Kew Bridge, will include 900 new homes and is one of the largest communities of new homes to be developed within London (7). The top floor flats are set to come with a view or a partial view of the new pitch (8). The first phase of the development got underway in March this year (9).

When the club move from their current location, Griffin Park, this land will also be redeveloped for 75 residential properties, a project which has already received full planning consent from Hounslow Council (10)

AFC Wimbledon, South London

In December 2015 AFC Wimbledon were granted planning permission by Merton Council for a new 11,000 seater stadium plus 602 residential units at the site of the current Wimbledon greyhound stadium. The project is due to cost around £20 million and be completed by the start of the 2018/2019 football season. The greyhound stadium closed in March 2017 to allow development to begin (11,12).

An update to the planning permission in 2016 has given consent to an increased number of residential dwellings, 579 flats up from the original 285, as well as increased stadium capacity, a hotel, a community medical centre and public open space (11).

Tottenham Hotspur, North London

Tottenham were granted planning permission in 2011 by Haringey Council for the redevelopment of their White Hart Lane stadium and the surrounding area (13). The development comprises a new stadium, a superstore, a college and residential dwellings. The first phase of the development has been completed, which includes the superstore, part of Tottenham University Technical College and offices, with phase two of the development already underway. This project forms part of a larger development plan by Haringey Council to transform parts of their borough of London.

Once the developments at Chelsea and Tottenham are complete, London will also be the only city in the world home to five football grounds with a capacity of 50,000 or more (14).