Ok, let me tell you what I see, as a Leeds Rhinos living in Stanley and a construction professional.

Firstly, as I understand it, the council own the land upon which the whole development is going to be built. They have already given the land (possible 999 year lease) the stadium will occupy to the Community Foundation to enable them to lend money against it as an asset. I suspect that the council have done a deal with Yorkcourt in respect of selling (or again long lease) them the remaining land at at a sum below the best possible current market value with Yorkcourt effectively then giving that sum of money back and possible a little more to the Community Foundation as a donation to the scheme. This means the council are not actually paying out any council tax payers money directly, so it is cost neutral in effect. The majority of the proceeding from the sale of Belle Vue will also be given to the Foundation for the build. The Foundation, being independent, will also be able to access other funding streams such as central government grants, lottery grants and EU funding. This is also why it is planned as a community sports facility and not a private development by a privately owned RL club like Wakefield. Wakefield will of course be then given, once completed, a long term lease so there future is secure in the ground itself. There is also probably some huge tax breaks of the giving of the money to a foundation and also developing a formal industrial site, even if it now resides in green-belt.

Yorkcourt planning permission will be conditional on them completing the new highway works and giving the agreed sum of money for the build of the new ground before any other developments start on site.

It is clear that Yorkcourt have to have a full planning green-light to give the money to the foundation to complete the funding required to build the ground. The overall and full development of the site will probably take at least 5 if not towards 10 years and Yorkcourt will know that and are it in for the long-term investment return. As such Yorkcourt don't need to build anything straight away, so it does all rest on getting planning, but I also suspect that Yorkcourt will have at least a few larger tenants interested in units and the hotel and fast-food outlet as well. Rumours in the industry are saying that Tesco are interested in a distribution warehouse on the site as they lack space in the region.

Now planning, well as much as the residents of Newmarket Lane will complain and they will claim because there are only a handful of them directly affected they are being simply brushed aside, I think they are going to struggle to make any legitimate planning objections. They are all ready making the mistake of going down a NIMBY route and that, despite the fact know one wants a huge great industrial estate building at the back of their house, is not a legitimate reason in the eyes of planning law to object. The Yorkcourt team and DLA Architects have thought about the potential objections and the new road means that they will have a now very quiet access only road outside their properties, they have put in screening at the rear of the properties, so they will not see anything and made sure service yards to the units are away from the houses, so reducing noise. The noise from the stadium is no objection because it last for, on average, 2 hours every two weeks and the ground is as far from residents as it could be. They will probably make the mistake, as many do, of trying so hard to stop the development that they will miss any potential legitimate minor changes to the current proposals that ultimately make life better for them to live within the development. They will be there in a few years wondering why they did not ask them to do this with the road, put in more trees here, move that building slightly further away etc, I see it all the time, they will probably regret it if not careful. They might even spend money on legal representation that will cost them money and gain them nothing.

The only sticking point and potential ace up the residents sleeve is the issue of the development being on the current UDP green-belt. I am sure Wakefield planning will pass the scheme but they could ask the Secretary of State to review and call-in the proposal for review. That said, the governments primary focus will be assessing the impact of reduction of the green-belt, not whether it upsets the local residents, and given it is an old colliery site and have some continued community use, they are unlikley to stop it... but this is the very unpredictable bit!

My gut and professional opinion is that it is likely to get the nod. If it does not get called in, then I can see the ground starting to be open in time for 2012 otherwise it could be delayed, but only by months and not years. Lets see and hope it does all go well, I went to the community centre and ticked yes as a local anyway!

What a thoroughly interesting read, thanks for that.

What a shame you’re a Leeds Fan

.

What an excellent read!

I don’t think Starbug is disappointed, just pointing out the pitfalls Leigh have endured, both during the construction of the stadium & also how the club are now treated as tenants.

Whilst I agree with the majority of your posting, i was under the impression that the land was already owned by Yorkcourt and that the land that the council has put aside for us to use as collateral is actually elsewhere and not directly part of the development area.

Maybe someone who knows a bit more could clarify this point.

You are correct Fordy. The land is owned by Yorkcourt - but it will be placed in the 'Special Purpose Vehicle' (I think that's the correct term) along with all the other assets / value required to fund the stadium and sports facilities.

Otherwise it's not too far wrong at all!

I sense some real momentum to this, and I just hope it isn't derailed by some bureaucrat somewhere inflicting a delay.

Next year becomes crucially important on the pitch. Posts on the Salford site suggest that 60 weeks is a timescale for building a stadium. If we accept that as being somewhere accurate, if we get in the play-offs in 2010 and have something that resembles the skeleton of a stadium by mid-2011, when the franchise applications are considered, with no apparent delays foreseeble (I'm thinking of the time that it took Halifax to complete things), I can't see that we don't tick most of the boxes.

Also, if we go for the 15,000 capacity option, with the corners filled in, 2010 might be a good year to do all the creative entertainment and ticketing options, as if we can show that we have an average of over 7,000, that is another box ticked. The potential average-basher of the home game against Catalan could be lifted by Danyl Johnson and it being the first game.

I think i can say with some degree of certainty that the management of the community trust have been very mindful of the problems that have gone on at the LSV.
Other than in essence owning the land it's built on WMDC wouldn't play any role in the management and administration of the stadium.

Would you not have preffered it to be in wakefield itself?

not sure whats happened to wakey since i moved away, but when i lived there i'm sure Stanley and Newmarket were in Wakefield

i Knew someone was going to post that!

i meant the city rather than the district!

Personally, I thought the best location for the ground was the one that collapsed last year. As it is there is no other alternative, and this is the next best thing. 4m from the city centre hardly miles away and the road network surrounding it means it’s far more likely to get planning permission granted then the congested road network closer to Wakefield.

I wasnt trying to be negative, the rest of the plans looks great, i'm just concerned about putting a stadium away from its fans, the only other one i can think of is the swinton stadium and its had a negative impact on attendances.

Thanks for clarifying, I was and still am making some assumptions based on my knowledge of these type of deals and the information I got first hand at the community centre, but the end result is clearly the same, so I was almost correct!



If Yorkcourt already own the land then the residents are fighting even more or a losing battle than I previously thought.

I suspect the fans that live in Stanley, Outwood, Wrenthrope, Newton Hill and Lofthouse would disagree about it being away from the fans, far closer and easier for them to get to now rather than having to bus into town or drive over Wakefield's bottle-neck chantry bridge. There are plenty of Rhino's in Rothwell and Woodlesford (and players) who are far closer to the ground than most traditional Cas supporting areas too!

To be honest I'm not that sure many of Wakefield fans derive from the Agrbigg/Belle Vue area and in all honesty a large proportion may actually come from north Wakefield or Ossett/Horbury (who, in motorway time, will be able to get there a hell of a lot quicker). Plus there is always the chance to entice new support from the Methley and Rothwell areas!

Make no mistake a city centre ground would’ve been ideal but that wasn’t to be. The pro's of an improved match day experience at a new stadium will far outweigh the negatives of moving a little further out of town.

I realise that, whenever a ground is moved its nearer for some and further for others but the majority of fans will come from the city itself, rather than outlying towns and villages, these fans who could have walked the distance before may be several miles away now.

I'm not sure what leeds and cas fans have to do with it either?

There is a risk, I suppose, as there may be plenty of people who can get to Belle Vue easily and less so to Newmarket. On the other hand, how many people are put off from going because of Belle Vue? It is not a pretty place to spend the afternoon, whereas something shiny and new and comfortable might attract a lot more people than would be put off by the location. City centres have all the shops you tend to find in out of town developments, but people are still happy to pile into their cars.

There is also the impact of more away fans. A lot of people will be interested in seeing the new ground, and so you there will be more fans because of that.

So if you take the Wakey hardcore as 5,000 (going from Catalan and Quins attendances), even if you lose 1,000, you should make those up easily by people who are newly-attracted to the new stadium, as well as the increased away attendances, as a lot of the Wakey occasional fans may well fancy it more often.

There is also the "mate at work" factor that a new stadium brings, as people will be interested in going and maybe just need someone who they know to prompt them.

To the rest of the city, we have looked like a fading glory for many years, playing in a part of the city people don't want to visit. Now, we might look like a team on the up that the city can be proud of.

If you build it, they will come.

How come?

Thanks for the great posts. The first was a great read, you obviously know your stuff. If you could clarify why it would be harder for the local residents to object if Yorkcourt owned the land that would be ace.
Like many, this sort of thing isn't the game I'm in, while I do take a keen interest I'm unaware of the finer detail, although posts like you have made have really cleared the picture up.

I think a lot of people parked up in the city centre and walked to BV. The P&R scheme will see to it that the stadium will be well serviced for those who wish to ditched the car.

Thats how i read it too, i was just wondering if there was a reason swc was saying that it was the perfect location that i missed?

It the perfect location in some aspects. For access it is, for congestion it is, to cause as little disruption to the public it is, and most importantly, viability it is.

With the time scales we have a city centre development would’ve been much harder to push through in 24 months.

Not to mention the economic stability it will bring to the region. Where else could you build something this big with minimal effect to the existing local community? This is going to be the making of our city for decades to come!

Hopefully your right and my concerns will not be realised.

Oh and i was never put off going to BV give me that over the jjb anyday!