Stadium: Hundreds protest against stadium plans


As I set out in an article for the Bucks Free Press in February, I am determined to create the right environment for a flourishing local democracy and a radical decentralisation of power.  Today, via The Bucks Free Press, we see local democracy in action:

HUNDREDS of protesters marched through High Wycombe today with a clear message for council bosses – “say no to the stadium”.

Campaigners turned out in their droves to make their voices heard ahead of Monday’s key decision on the scheme by Wycombe District Council chiefs.

As I have said to councillors, protesters and advocates of the proposals, I believe entrepreneurial projects should be brought forward by entrepreneurs, not government at any level, and judged democratically under the planning system. With the Coalition’s plans for a decentralisation of power and the intended public service reforms in progress, it is absolutely vital that we have high levels of participation in local democracy: there will be greater freedom, greater transparency and greater local power.

Local communities will be able to use that power in a variety of ways. Some may wish to stop development; others may wish to deliver particular projects. In any event, MPs will have no authority to overturn local, democratic decisions. I was therefore delighted that, as Conservative activist Dr Marcus Wood put it on Twitter, “it was certainly the Big Society out in force!”

Good – now could not be a better time for Wycombe people to take a close interest in the deployment of local power. Wycombe District Council will hold a full Cabinet debate in public on Monday night, leading to a decision on the proposed sports village.

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Comments & Responses

3 Responses so far.

  1. Nils Boray says:

    I’m not from Wycombe Steve, but two things strike me here. The first is that the number of people demonstrating here is a fraction of the number of people who turn up regularly at home games for Wycombe Wanderers or London Wasps – so in terms of numerical democracy, my feeling is the rugby & football supporters would win this one.

    I also don’t really see how this represents anything to do with decentralisation – it’s a local planning issue – the same now as it always has been – and I’m not sure how or why this should or would change in the future.

    I detect a good deal of Nimbyism here – something which is currently an issue on several fronts in my own town of Leighton Buzzard not too many miles away. Nimbyism is of course a fairly natural emotion, but what worries me is that we end up with Banana-ism – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything. Change is something few people rush towards, but sometimes it’s a good idea – and I think Wycombe could probably do with a decent stadium.

    I have of course no knowledge of the surrounding area, & wouldn’t wish to make a judgement on limited evidence.

    The only time I definitely remember seeing Wycombe play was when they beat my team Huddersfield Town in the opening match at the then McAlpine Stadium – which also had quite a bit of opposition, but has come to be a much loved icon.

    I’ve never quite forgiven Wanderers though, so good luck with your campaign !

    (PS – looks a bit like rows of egg boxes in the drawing if I’m really honest)

  2. Gary Nuttall says:

    Nils Boray :I’m not from Wycombe Steve, but two things strike me here. The first is that the number of people demonstrating here is a fraction of the number of people who turn up regularly at home games for Wycombe Wanderers or London Wasps – so in terms of numerical democracy, my feeling is the rugby & football supporters would win this one.
    I also don’t really see how this represents anything to do with decentralisation – it’s a local planning issue – the same now as it always has been – and I’m not sure how or why this should or would change in the future.
    I detect a good deal of Nimbyism here – something which is currently an issue on several fronts in my own town of Leighton Buzzard not too many miles away. Nimbyism is of course a fairly natural emotion, but what worries me is that we end up with Banana-ism – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything. Change is something few people rush towards, but sometimes it’s a good idea – and I think Wycombe could probably do with a decent stadium.
    I have of course no knowledge of the surrounding area, & wouldn’t wish to make a judgement on limited evidence.
    The only time I definitely remember seeing Wycombe play was when they beat my team Huddersfield Town in the opening match at the then McAlpine Stadium – which also had quite a bit of opposition, but has come to be a much loved icon.
    I’ve never quite forgiven Wanderers though, so good luck with your campaign !
    (PS – looks a bit like rows of egg boxes in the drawing if I’m really honest)

    How on earth can you say “I detect a good deal of Nimbyism here” and then “I have of course no knowledge of the surrounding area, & wouldn’t wish to make a judgement on limited evidence” ? As Spock on the USS Enterprise would say….that is not logical!

    The stadium issue is not about NIBMY’ism. It’s about wanting the right sporting facilities being provided across the whole district so that they’ll benefit the entire community. The stadium proposal is about ratepayers losing valuable Green Belt assets if they’re sold off to pay for the building of another rugby & football stadium in the hope that it’ll keep the loss-making clubs solvent.

    The rugby & football clubs are heavily in debt and don’t have crowds to fill (or at times even half fill) their existing 10,500 seater stadium (that the football club owns). The “solution” seems to be based on the film “Field of Dreams” in that what’s needed is a BIGGER stadium (17,500) because this’ll magically make the clubs profitable (even though Wycombe Wanderers would lose the benefit of owning their stadium and instead become a tenant – thereby losing the rent they get from London Wasps and additionally having to pay rent).

    Please don’t rresort to labelling the protestors as NIMBY’s. I don’t have a suitable phrase but maybe CTC’s (Communities THAT CARE) would be a start.

  3. ‘The first is that the number of people demonstrating here is a fraction of the number of people who turn up regularly at home games for Wycombe Wanderers or London Wasps’ – in regard to this, I would say that there was a strong presence of Wanderers fans at the protest. What the owners want is not necessarily the same as what the fans want. An important thing to the fans is that at the moment their team has security in owning their own stadium.

    Any old city in Britain has a sports stadium; stadiums are nothing special. Green Belt assets are much rarer and more valuable in the long term. Personally I don’t see why Wycombe needs to try to catch up with any other town or city.