Magpies poised to pick their spot
Maidenhead: Football club says it will be sensitive to ‘park feel’
More details were provided this week on Maidenhead United’s proposed move to a bigger stadium in Braywick Park.
The Magpies’ chief executive Jon Adams updated councillors on the plans at the Maidenhead Town Forum on Monday, where he said a move to a new community ground was the ‘most sensible and realistic’ option for the club.
The relocation would see Maidenhead United leave its current York Road home, where it has been based since 1871 – making it the oldest continually used football ground in the world.
Mr Adams told members the current ground is ‘very old’ and needs ‘significant capital investment’, saying a move to the northern part of Braywick Park would help the club address its long-term challenges and ‘establish financial independence’.
He added that additional facilities would meet the needs of the Magpies’ growing grassroots football and community wellbeing programmes.
The planned 5,200-capacity stadium would improve existing sporting facilities at Braywick Park, he said, while remaining within reach of the town centre.
The forum heard that a planning application is expected for the ground in November or December, with the club undergoing an extensive consultation period with fans and the wider public.
“We are not just a football club. We are more than that; we see ourselves as a community resource that is growing and needs to continue to grow,” Mr Adams said.
“I do not want to dismiss the sadness of leaving York Road but the supporters recognise the challenges that we face.
“[This is] the most sensible and only realistic option available to us. This is an ambitious project that will help us to meet the needs of the community.
“It will deliver a fantastic sports stadium that the town can be really proud of.”
The plans incorporate the main stadium – which would have a 3G surface – alongside another smaller pitch surrounded by an athletics track.
Mr Adams said he was keen to maintain as many trees as possible and keep a ‘park feel’ once the ground is built, with some concerns raised over the impact the stadium will have on its surroundings.
The Magpies’ plans have also been met with resistance from members of Maidenhead Rugby Club, which already plays its home games at Braywick Park.
Chairman Steve Bough has been a vocal opponent of the proposals, and told the Advertiser last year that the club believes ‘Braywick Park is not a suitable location for this type of sports/business complex’.
Mr Adams told the meeting that the football club ‘continues to be in positive dialogue’ with the rugby club.
“I can’t sweep under the carpet that all members [of the rugby club] are for the proposal at this stage,” Mr Adams said.
“We are looking to engage with them and make sure we listen to their concerns.”
Maidenhead United have offered the rugby club use of its pitch for its junior teams, but there are issues from the rugby camp over whether youngsters should be playing on 3G and not grass.
“We want to work with them and see if we can come up with a solution,” Mr Adams added.
“They see Braywick as something which is the rugby club’s, [but] we don’t want to steamroll over them.”
The chief executive told the meeting that construction of the new ground would take ‘just over a year’, with an agreement already in place with a developer for the sale of York Road.
After the meeting, Mr Adams told the Advertiser that he wanted the new ground to be ‘as sensitive as possible’ to its green surroundings and added that feedback so far had been ‘generally positive’.
He said that the facilities like the athletics track would be ‘managed’, with details being worked on now as to how people can access them, such as through bookings.
Mr Adams also said Braywick Park benefits from good transport links in response to some concerns that the new ground would be too far out of town.