HAPPINESS IS A HOME AT HAMLET
Dulwich get new stadium go-ahead
CHAIRMAN Ben Clasper reckons Dulwich Hamlet have won their greatest ever battle after the new stadium that secures their future was given the green light.
The south London club’s long wait to learn if their plans for a new ground at their Champion Hill home had been successful ended this week, with Southwark Council voting 5-to-2 in favour of the development.
It has been almost a year since the National League South side submitted the application and Clasper knows what a significant moment this is for Hamlet and the wider community.
“The club is now safe for 125 years, not 125 days,” he told The NLP. “This community has had to fight to keep the club going.
“There’s always been a battle to be won and this was the biggest. At some point everyone knew it was going to come down to a decision like Monday night. The relief is massive, everyone’s able to start thinking about the future.
“It was incredible the community kept the club going as long as it did. We were lost in disputes between parties that didn’t care, and the biggest objective has been getting the ownership back in the hands of the fans.
“But to do that, you have to get the structure in place and now we have the luxury of time in which we can develop this.
“We do a lot for charities and always work with local businesses, which we can extend even more now. But, the one thing we haven’t been able to do is sports provision. A new 3G surface means we now don’t have to turn people away.
“This isn’t us wanting to change our identity and become a different sort of club, on the contrary we want to promote our values even more. We’re going back home to do just that.”
Hamlet have been playing at Champion Hill on and off since 1931 but, as it stands, the ground would not meet National League requirements should Gavin Rose’s side get promoted.
Having ground-shared with rivals Tooting & Mitcham for nine months in 2018, the club’s new pitch will actually be on the same spot as the original.
Stability
Clasper believes it is now a new era for the club and the success of Dulwich’s proposal should not be understated. He added: “The number of things we as a club can now stop worrying about is amazing.
“We used to shudder every time we turned on the floodlights in case they blew and sent someone flying across the room.
“The viewing at Champion Hill is terrible right now. Once you hit 2,000 you have people who just can’t see the game. We get 3,000+ so it’s fantastic we can now assure they will watch a full game with more space.
“Gavin deserves stability too. He’s been here over ten years and the last few he’s not known where the club will be playing come the end of the season.
“If we do well and get into the play-offs, it’s great now because the players and fans don’t need to be worrying about whether we won’t be allowed promotion.
“It just shows what a community club can do.”