Critics told new stand won’t turn village football pitch into Anfield

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

A new stand would not result in a football club’s ground becoming “Anfield tomorrow”, a city council planning committee has been assured.

Some villagers had objected to Marshfield Football Club’s proposals for a 100-seater stand alongside its home pitch – at playing fields it shares with the community.

Planning officer Adam Foote said the club has ambitions of climbing through the leagues and would require a certain level of “formalised” spectator seating to do so.

The stand would be built between two existing dugouts next to the southwestern touchline, and would be “away from the closest residential properties”, he added.

Cllr Allan Screen, speaking on behalf of Marshfield’s community council and 26 people who objected to the application, told the committee the stand “risks shifting the balance of use… towards a specialist football venue”.

He said the wider site, which also includes the village hall, is “intended to function as a shared multi-use community resource rather than for the exclusive benefit of any single organisation”.

The community council was not against sport or the football club, but wanted to “ensure no single activity comes to dominate or fundamentally alter the community facility”, he added.

Some committee members were sympathetic to residents’ objections, especially around concerns the stand and the club’s potential promotion could draw more spectators, more traffic and more parking pressures.

Cllr Stephen Cocks said he felt the objections had “not received a massive amount of consideration”.

Mr Foote said the council had given “due consideration” to the objections, and noted the site was already being used as a football pitch where people could spectate.

“This development would not prejudice the use of the site by the public,” he explained. “The operation would continue as normal [and] would not result in any exclusive use of the wider fields.”

Cllr John Reynolds said the residents had “valid” concerns but “the activities that will be going on are the same ones that are going on right now… with the same spectators”.

“It’s really just a case of where those spectators stand or sit,” he added.

“This is a small-scale seating area,” said Mr Foote. “There’s going to be an existing number of users and visitors to the site because the pitch is there.

“It’s not going to be Anfield tomorrow.”

The committee voted to grant planning permission, subject to several conditions including a new requirement – proposed by Cllr Mark Howells – that the applicant provide more suitable designs for a path leading to the stand.

The committee heard that the club would also require separate landowner consent – in this case, from Newport City Council – to build the stand.