Locals take dim view of newVilla academy
Massive training centre for football club will overshadow neighbours
AHOMEOWNER fears the development of an indoor pitch at Aston Villa’s new ‘game changing’ inner-city academy will leave her house shrouded in darkness.
Work is well under way for the scheme at Witton which will include outdoor floodlit pitches and a fullsize indoor 3G pitch.
But is it the indoor facility, yards from homes on Tame Road, which 64-year-old JJ Willock fears will cut off light from her property and impact her quality of life. She said she was shocked at the scale of the construction and now worries nobody will want to buy her property when the time comes to sell.
Aston Villa were granted planning permission for the development in May 2021 which included the 16.4 metre-high steel structure for the indoor pitches.
The club say the academy will provide a benefit to inner-city kids unable
to get to Villa’s current training facilities at Bodymoor Heath, near Sutton Coldfield.
The project is a stone’s throw from Villa Park, residential areas, and key public transport routes, which, it was submitted in planning documents, would open up training opportunities from surrounding inner-city areas.
But JJ said the ongoing works were making life a misery, and the end product would impact her day-today life. She said: “A few months ago
I realised there was some sort of activity on the land next to where I live. This is horrendous.
“We as residents have heard noises and foundations of our houses being rocked.
“This is not right and work is continuing to happen.
“Only in the last week or so, I saw a big massive construction outside my garden. It is that high and close to my garden along with other residents - this is completely wrong.
“It’s blocking out the light from my home which I have lived in the past 22 years and it’s making me completely infuriated. I’m scared because eventually no one will want to buy our houses if we sell it.
“I am disabled mobility-wise so I’m going to be stuck in the house looking at this for years.
“We are just living in the noise and construction with our windows covered in dust. When it’s finished it’s going to be like living in a forest where there’s no light.”
The Post contacted Aston Villa Football Club for a comment.