'Community hub' - Historic rugby club plans new club house despite opposition from residents
A rugby club is planning to expand with a new club house, but its proposals have met with opposition from residents.
Stockton Rugby Club, one of the country’s oldest rugby clubs, has developed plans for a new modern two-storey club house with improved playing and training facilities. It says this will help it grow, bring in money and members and play its “vital role in the community” for future generations at its five-acre site on Grosvenor Road, Fairfield.
The plans include a gym, training area, main bar for up to 80 people, a function room for up to 120, a sponsors’ lounge and covered and open terraces, club office and off-street parking. The club says it will expand to meet growing demand, keep local players, improve health, wellbeing and social inclusion, and secure its long-term future.
The club, which was founded in 1873, says the new house will act as a “year-round community hub” for residents, create jobs and bigger crowds, make the game “more accessible to all ages and abilities” and bring opportunities for volunteering, sponsorship, hosting summer camps, tournaments and festivals, and revenue from private hire, corporate entertainment, events and bar sales.
The proposed 24m by 16m structure would be built using shipping containers with insulation, cladding and glazing.
The club says it is recognised for one of the region’s strongest youth development programmes with its mini, junior, senior, women’s and girls’ teams. But it has “outgrown its current facilities” and says “we have reached capacity and are losing players to other clubs”.
It says they want to bring more young people, girls and women, people with disabilities and pupils with additional needs into the sport, improve accessibility and generate more income. The proposals “offer the better facilities we desperately need to grow”, says the club’s development plan.
No plans have been submitted yet, however a consultation with residents had led to a petition opposing the proposals.
Residents have stressed their concerns are not about rugby or the club’s contribution to the town, but the impacts on those living nearby, while the club says it is aware of the concerns, “the level of support outweighs the objections” and it looks forward to discussing the scheme further.
A meeting was held at the Fairfield pub on Sunday (August 23), and attended by residents and ward councillors, to discuss the proposals for Grosvenor Road Playing Field.
The petition was signed by 72 of the 74 people who attended, with a show of hands demonstrating “overwhelming opposition”, say organisers.
Residents expressed concerns that the plans “represent a significant intensification of activity on a site with a single point of access from Grosvenor Road and surrounded on three sides by established homes”.
They also spoke of worries about increased traffic, parking, road safety, noise, crime, environmental impacts, the scale of the development, the wider range of activities which the proposals are intended to support and their impact on the neighbourhood in a 90-minute discussion.
According to organisers, several residents spoke about choosing to live in the area because of its peaceful character and expressed concern about the impact the proposals could have on their homes, their families and their quality of life, and about bringing up young families close to a development of this scale.
Queries were also raised about a voluntary consultation process and leaflet sent to residents.
Paul McQuaid, one of the organisers, said after the meeting: “The turnout speaks for itself. Around 75 people gave up their Sunday evenings because they’re genuinely concerned about what the rugby club is proposing and what it could mean for our neighbourhood and quality of life.
“They came to listen, ask questions and understand the proposals. Having done that, it was clear that many of them have concerns about the scale of the proposed development and the impact it could have on their daily lives.
“This isn’t about being against rugby. Stockton Rugby Club is an important part of our town and people recognise the benefits it brings.
“The issue is whether residents have been given enough information, and whether the potential impacts on the local community have been properly identified and assessed. They’re questioning whether this is the right place for a development of this scale, and they want their concerns to be heard before any planning application is submitted.”
Attendees agreed to continue engaging constructively with Stockton Rugby Club, its agent ELG Planning, Stockton Council and other stakeholders as the proposals develop. They are urging the council to ensure local residents’ views are given full and proper consideration if a planning application is submitted.
A spokesman for the rugby club responded: “We have started initial consultations with residents and while the level of support outweighs the objections, we are well aware of the concerns that have been raised by nearby residents. We are working through the comments and look forward to discussing the scheme further to hopefully address any concerns that have been raised.
“This is a great opportunity to secure the future of a club that has been providing sporting opportunities for Stockton’s residents for over 150 years.”