Brent Planners recommend approval of Spurs' bid to increase number of full capacity events at Wembley Stadium

Brent Planning Committee will decide the application to increase the number of full capacity events at Wembley Stadium on Thursday March 23rd. The planners recommend approval 'on balance' and in the face of opposition from local residents and Barry Gardiner MP and Bob Blackman MP. After discussions the number of additional major events proposed has been reduced from 31 to 22. The planning commitee will be held at the earlier time of 6.30pm at Brent Civic Centre.

This is the officers' conclusion:

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123.    The objections received indicate that there is a level of impact currently experienced by events at the stadium. Comments received suggest that these mainly fall under the headings of anti-social behaviour and transport. Some impacts are expected, as it is a large stadium in a location with residents and businesses nearby.

124.    Additional events can take place at the stadium irrespective of the outcome of the application. However, those events that are beyond the existing cap would be limited to a capacity of approximately 51,000.

125.    The original cap on events was imposed to manage the impacts until such time as specific transport improvements had been made. Whilst most of these have taken place, not all of them have been realised. Circumstances have changed since the original planning permission in 2002, which suggest that the final piece of transport infrastructure (the Stadium Access Corridor) will not be provided in the originally envisaged form, but will be a variant of this. A further change is the level of development within the area, which has increased the population and will continue to do so. Therefore, the Council considers that the cap remains relevant, and any further impact associated with the additional events must therefore be assessed.

126.    Clearly, to increase the number of events to accommodate Tottenham Hotspur would imply a commensurate increase in the impact, albeit that it is proposed to be temporary for 12 months. In addition, following discussions the number of additional major events has also been decreased from 31 to 22, which would reduced the number of instances within which those impacts are apparent over that 12 month period.

127.    In analysing the impacts there has been some concern about the level of economic

benefit which would result, and this is primarily centred on visitor expenditure. In any event it seems common sense that there would be winners and losers on event days, dependent on the type of business. This makes it all the more important that the social impacts on event days are further mitigated. A number of additional measures have been secured to deal with some of these issues.

128.    Transportation issues have been extensively raised, and there are ongoing efforts to reduce the number of vehicles on a match day. A number of mitigation measures are proposed to continue this work. Some of these allow for existing work to continue, and others are new or updated. The pirate parking initiative is considered particularly important. On an individual event basis, Tottenham Hotspur do have the ability to influence their supporters’ behaviour over the course of a year, which is more difficult than for visitors on a one-off basis such as the FA Cup final. Addressing transport issues will also contribute to reducing noise and air quality issues.

129.    In summary, it is recognised that there is a level of impact being caused by major events now, and that this would increase with an increase in the number of high capacity major events. However, the measures proposed would ensure that this is mollified as much as is reasonably achievable. All are considered necessary to mitigate the increased number of matches which this application proposes. A further consideration is that Tottenham Hotspur could use the stadium for major events up to 51,000 now without restriction, and were they to do that then no additional mitigation measures would be formally secured. The proposed additional mitigation would apply to Tottenham Hotspur events, and with some of these being within the existing cap would represent a theoretical improvement for these major events.

130.    The proposal is, on balance, recommended for approval. 

Full Report HERE