Match days cost shock
Saturday 27th October 2007, 2:00PM BST.
New figures have revealed Shropshire taxpayers are having to pay out more than £2,000 every time Shrewsbury Town Football Club play at their new £15 million stadium.
The hefty burden emerged after Shropshire County Council highways chiefs admitted it costs about £1,150 to place cones in areas such as Meole Brace and Sutton to stop parking in streets during home games.
The bill is so high because contractors putting out the cones have to be trained and insured to work on public roads and must carry out the work at weekends or in the evening, council bosses have said.
This amount is in addition to the £1,000 it already costs to close Oteley Road to ensure fans’ safety.
It means taxpayers could now be footing a bill of more than £49,450 by the end of the season.
The club does not have to pay towards the road closures or the placing of cones because transport issues were agreed when it received planning permission for the 10,000 all-seater ground, but the council said it was still seeking a financial contribution.
Bob Ellis, Shropshire County Council’s acting head of network improvement, said: “The cost of placing and collecting cones on the 42 residential streets surrounding the new football stadium during match days is around £1,150.
“Cones are put in place on these streets to address problems of indiscriminate parking in residential areas as a result of the operations of the new football stadium. This allows traffic to continue to flow freely and safely in these areas.
“Obviously employing contractors for Saturdays and evenings incurs additional costs and the workforce need to be appropriately trained and insured. We are continuing to have discussions with the football club regarding the funding of this work.”
The council admitted earlier this month that problems with fans getting to the new ground had only surfaced once the new stadium had opened.
Hugh Dannatt, the council’s group manager for traffic strategy, defended the decision to close Oteley Road claiming it was money “well spent” in order to ensure fans’ safety.
Exclusive By Russell Roberts
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Pay the contractors less. Or use other people (from the football club maybe) who will cost less. Can’t believe that it costs so much just to lay out some cones!
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It gets better and better
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I think we have gone a whole day without a anti STFC story in the Sloppy Star. Well done to all of the editorial team. You must be very proud.
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The times were not that long ago when the Police had the responsibility for putting cones on public roads for this purpose. This appears to be just another responsibility that they have abrogated.
Before long we will need to wonder if we need a Police Force at all.
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Alan
please remember we no longer have a police FORCE – its a police SERVICE. The term ‘Force’ sends out such a negative, authoritarian, non-inclusive image, and as we all know, our police-persons must be community minded, non sexist, racist or any other ‘ists’persons who will be non-judgmental and fully able to fill in all the forms.
And Dave – shame on you for not being up to speed with Health and Safety. These contractors must be able to write the risk assessments for such a potentially dangerous job, and plan for every eventuality. Surely that is worth £1,000 on anyone’s money?
After all we council tax payers are only here to be milked until the teats run dry – then they will sell off the beast for slaughter!
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Not all of us like football, and some will probably never visit the ground. There was a lot of opposition to the location and nobody listened.
It makes my blood boil to think that I am paying for something I don’t want and won’t use.
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I’m not a footie fan but how much money is spent by people going to the match each week they play at home?.
do they use the same contractors who close roads when there’s road works if so surely they are trained or is it different training for football matches.
would this have come to light if STFC and SABC were not acting like children with each other?
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Surely the Council should be charging the football club the costs involved. Give them two options pay and play or no pay no play.
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Absolutely Richard. Add it on to the ticket price, only a few pence split by the odd thousand.
No way should Tax payers be footing the bill for football.
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“We kicked the ball around this empty park.
Me and Dan and Charlie Clark.
And spent our aimless empty days in wonderment of just who pays,
For us to play whilst no work we had.
In this our lost town that hath gone mad.”
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Got it !! When the team have finished dribbling the ball around the cones in practice, train them to place them around the streets before the match.
The least to ask of a bunch of non conversational and overpaid morons.
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It’s not the football club who failed to foresee the pedestrian problems. Who pays for all the road closures and cones for the flower show and west mid show ??
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Bad location and cost some people money, now costs all ct payers money footie fans or not .
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I Think that is disgusting,all that money just wasted,when we need to get the NHS back on its feet,
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I think you will find that these cones are put out to stop any inconvienience to the householders of Sutton Farm and Meole and not for the football fans, as a fan myself (and taxpayer)I would rather they were not put out at all and I could then park where I wished. I just love it when all the anti-football brigade come on here and start slagging the club off at every opportunity, get a life and stop worrying yourselves to death over something that has happened and will be here long after you have gone….. SHREWSBURY TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB
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Steven,
The same can be said for a lot of things.
Who really is to blame for this?
Maybe SARA could donate.
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All a lot of codswallop. use the land near to the new meadow to make a good car park, charge a fair price, charge illegal parking in the streets, turn a 50,000 a year cost for ratepayers into a profit, because someone will always park where they shouldn’t, and this anti Shrewsbury Town is what you deserve if you dont build a (multi) story park for those who do support the town not just the football club.
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GIZZA JOB!
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“Steven said: Oct 27th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
It makes my blood boil to think that I am paying for something I don’t want and won’t use.”
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Through the council you pay for plenty of other things that you invariably never use.
The difference is that they don’t have people with an agenda set against them whipping up negative stories.
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Maybe people should read the article again.”The club does not have to pay towards the road closures or the placing of cones because transport issues were agreed when it received planning permission for the 10,000 all-seater ground” These issues were bought up at the time and dealt with.Lets find something new to complain about please or get a life!!
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I don’t get it. STFC is a private company. The game is only open to paying punters, so it’s a private function. The people putting cones out are a private contractors. So what authority does the Council have to subsidise private buinesses in this way when it is cutting back on services it should be providing?
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I wonder how on earth we managed without £1,000+ worth of cones in Cherry Orchard, Longden Coleham etc for all those years at the Gay Meadow?
If the Council didn’t seek to appease a minority of nimbys this wouldn’t be an issue in the first place.
It is apparently an inconvenience to have football fans park on streets for less than 30 days of the year for around 3 hours at a time. It’s not an incovenience to allow Church goers to park on the same street (Sutton Road) for 52 weeks of the year as nobody complains about that, ridiculous!
Come on Shropshire Star, time to stop this silly anti-STFC campaign you’ve been running for the last few months.
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dont put the cones on public rights of way!!! its that simple, as long as road tax is paid then there is no reason that people can not park where ever it is legal to do so
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Too late Richard, The council have already given planning permission for the club to play and never bothered to ask for any cash towards such things. Very shortsighted on their part, but far too late to legally change the goalposts now.
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Just wait for the STFC fans to leap the defence of the club. Using the old arguements about the Gay meadow having to close roads. Fact is the gay meadow was built in 1910 when traffic and parking wasnt as much of an issuue. The building of the new stadium was the perfect oportunity to bring the gound into the 21st century and they didn’t. With the controversy around the building of the stadium you would think that the club would want to be seen to be being a good neighbour. All the club has been is an inconvienience to to road users and residents alike with childish board at their head. The clubs back up plan to put extra parking on the site of the 5 a side pitches has failed unfortunatly the supporters have got another 100 years of walking ahead of them (that is if they have any supporters left by then – not a game won in 6 matches)
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Traffic regulations around the ground are part of a 106 agreement the club and local councils signed up to ahead of the ground opening. It sets out what aspects of the traffic management around the site that the club pays for.
It seems SCC (who are responsible for the schemes in the article, not SABC) have badly misjudged the costs they are incurring and now want the club to pay some of the costs.
I don’t have a problem with SCC going back to the club to negatite this, but please don’t blame STFC for this, as its a lack of foward planning and budgeting by SCC.
I can just imagine the outcry there would be if STFC tried to alter the 106 agreement due to a misjudgment on their part.
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The council refused to let the club build more car aprking spaces and put up many barriers for the park and ride scheme.
TThey were aslo totally unprepared for the obvious volume of fans, despite granting the club permission to build with these restrictions implied.
Those of you that are unhappy may I suggest you have a good look at the council.
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Steven said – ‘It makes my blood boil to think that I am paying for something I don’t want and won’t use.’
How many millions are the tax payers having to pay for a new theatre which will have less of a draw and overall attendance for the public than the Football Club? I would not use a theatre and can see that us tax payers will be subsidising that venue for a long time to come.
If the footpaths were made safe there would be no need for road closures – maybe a pedestrian crossing at Meole Island, footpath surfacing and some lighting would suffice. Is this not being done because it would remove a method for the council to discredit the Club or is there a valid reason?
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Steven – I commend you for coming out and stating you do not like football.
Perhaps you should have been representing SARA and issuing proper statements with facts and truths unlike the dimwits who seemed to represent you.
It makes my blood boil too and I support STFC and live in the Sutton area.
We can only blame the neighbours who made such a fuss over fans legally parking in the neighbourhood.
PS Its now midday Sunday, how much fuss do the Sutton residents make of the church goers parking in the same street?
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What a joke SABC and STFC are turning out to be. Could no one have foreseen this happening and planned for it before the event? Surely that would have been far better instead of this public squabbling and bitching about how much it costs and who’s going to pay. It shows neither of them in good light and one wonders whether either organisation is fit to do the job it is supposed to be doing. Get a grip and get on with it.
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Shortly the roads will not be needed to be closed.After the performance against Mansfield and many more like that then no supporters will be attending.
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Now we all know why our Council Tax bills are so high….1,150 pounds to place some cones on a few roads near the football ground….outrageous.
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The council themselves decided on the road closures without any prior consultation they made the committment to spend your money on this move. Could someone tell me when in the last five seasons at Gay Meadow did the council close Abbey Foregate on a Saturday evening or any of the surrounding streets coned off to prevent off ground parking, the potential at Abbey Foregate for an accident was just as great as Oteley Road and the parking problem worse. The answer of course they the council never took such action. They see an eye for point scoring off Mr Wycherley because their shameful attempts to cover up their mistakes over several issues concerning to name one the community pitches. Shame on you S.A.B.C. but I for one will have the last laugh for come election time there will be a few coucillors who will have to wake up and smell the coffee and admit they will have to find some other source of revenue and apologise profusely to those who have in the past paid their expenses that is you and I the tax payers of this borough.
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is this another council own goal? but wait as the town,s team cannot score at home against ten men then perhaps they could play their games away, and the road could be re-opened and the ground used by the council and the team and manager for own goal practice.
oh what a wicked thougt from deepest devon. floreat salopia
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What a suprise the Shropshire Star simply homing in on the easy headline story and not doing some proper journalism to find the story behind the story.
How about the Shropshire Star go and document the EMPTY car parking spaces at the park and ride on Saturdays and mid week game days which could be used to generate much needed cash for the council when Shrewsbury Town play their games?
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No great wonder then that Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council are the laughing stock of councils around the UK.
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Just to satisfy the ‘anti theatre brigade’. It was decided on the 2nd October, 38 years ago that Shrewsbury needed a new theatre, I think the good people of Shrewsbury have waited long enough.
No doubt some of you will think that ticket prices will rise, they probably will, and so will the quality of acts performing at Theatre Severn, just remember, people paid up to £35 to STAND in the rain and mud to watch Jools Holland, don’t you think they would be happy to the same or even less to be seated and in comfort.
I will support and use the theatre as much as I can when it opens in February 2009. There are those of us that like culture and those that like football, something for everyone.
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I’m not one to defend SABC, but can we just make it clear that the issue of the road closures is the responsibility of Shropshire County Council. Those blaming SABC for this really need to read the article and check their facts.
Something else to factor in is the extra spending in Shrewsbury the new ground is creating. Companies are holding meetings at the ground which previously took place in Telford or the West Midlands. People attending these meetings are stopping in hotels in the town. The club also pay rates locally.
By the way I’m a football fan and like the theatre!
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I cannot believe how many people do not know the difference between Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council and Shropshire County Council. This issue is to do with the COUNTY COUNCIL not Borough Council. You’re quick to write a scathing comment about SABC, but in less time you could quickly find out the difference between the two councils with less keystrokes, this article even points out it is the County Council!
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I’m not a STFC supporter but was keen to pop to the ground every now and again to see the occasional game. Basically, the parking arrangements just put me off.
I’m gobsmacked that a stadium built on the edge of town, virtually surrounded by green fields doesn’t have adequate parking. This cone issue is just part of that basic major problem.
I haven’t a clue who the villains are in this piece – whether its the STFC Board, the Council or neighbouring landowners – but as a football fan, it strikes me as if the whole project has blasted wide from six yards out.
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solution is simple – don’t bother with cones! We didn’t have them in Coleham and Monkmoor when we played at Gay meadow and residents didn’t complain, so lets have common sense, get rid of cones and save the money!
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residents at coleham and monkmoor didn’t complain ? whats that got to do with it, perhaps they didn’t know how
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Can’t each resident have their own cone and put it out when needed.
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It occours to me that there are two options regarding cones. The first is don’t put any cones out save the money and let people park where they want after all they are public streets!! The second option is put up resident only parking signs and employ a traffic warden to patrol the streets. £30 odd every time someone parks illegally will soon generate some much needed cash and instead of just discriminating against football supporters everyone even church goers get to pay!! In fact take it to its logical conclusion lets make every road resident parking only and stop everyone from having nasty unwanted cars parked outside their homes employ loads more traffic wardens and make tens of thousands of pounds for those poor council officials!!
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Yet another article from the Shropshire Star attacking the football club. I wonder how much of the £13M cost of building the stadium went to local businesses, I wonder how many businesses are day to day suppliers to the football club, I wonder how many people the football club employ and just how much of a significant contributor it is to the financial well being of the area? I wonder how many people buy the Shropshire Star just to find out whats going on at their local football club? I wonder what would happen if the clubs supporters stopped buying the Shropshire Star? So many questions!!!!
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S.A.B.C. or S.C.C. makes no difference it will be the same when the Labour government say’s it will anyway. We the taxpayers have a right to determine whether our money is spent wisely or not that we do by Voting. If your councillor be it Borough or County is not acting in the best interest of your community then you have a right to take them to task over it. If your borough councillor is not doing their best then you dont re-elect them the same goes for your county councillor. Matters not who decides to do what they have to be accountable to us the taxpayer. So come on Councillors do your bit this is a price that the taxpayers did not want or need there is no historical president for road closures but there is for altering traffic flows and spending vast sums of money putting in new pavements and cobble setts when not required to so just for once get something right put in the footpath and incorperate a crossing with the Meole Island lights surley cheaper than £2,000 per fortnight for however long. Parking cones issued to house owners that demand that the Public Road outside their hallowed ground is sacrasant and a place of special scientific interest. Let us get real this is money being well and truly wasted, Stop wasting mine and others hard earned cash.
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I’m not trying to be rude Oliver Sudden, but where have you been for the last 2 years!!
National planning guidlines are the reason there are only 650 parking spaces at the ground – this point has been made time and again by both the club and SABC!
To counter this the club runs buses to the ground from all over shrewsbury and shropshire, there are numerous official parking places near the ground, or you could (deep breath now) – park in the town and walk for 30 minutes to the ground – getting your daily recommended level of exercise in the process!
I actually think discouraging fans to travel to the ground by car is a forward thinking step – in 10 years time driving into town by car will be a thing of the past and by setting up car free alternatives now the club are leading the way.
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If I run a car, pay car tax and keep it road worthy, why can I not park it on a Saturday in Sutton Farm and walk to the ground?
I promise not to block a drive way and will park adjacent to the curb.
I can park there every other day of the week and I can park there on a Sunday should I wish to attend the church.
Will the residents of Bayston Hill stop me parking on their streets at the forthcoming Model Railway exhibition?
Roads are for everyone. We live in a community and contribute together. In the days of health and safety surely this is against civil liberties or human rights.
I think the best thing all round would be to build a new prison or paedophile detention centre next to the stadium THEN the residents would have something proper to complain about.
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A few games this season will be played on Sunday morning.(ie local derbies). Will the cones be put out then? Oh my God what will the residents decision be then. Allow the Church goers to park in between the cones, have no cones,what a calamity and it will prove beyond doubt that the council and Some residents are 2 faced.
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oh lets turn it in to a gladiators arena and have some proper sport
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This is another case of bad forward planning. When the new meadow was built, thought should have been given to the amount of parking needed.
The whole idea was rushed through & rubber stamped accordingly. Why is it up to local taxpayers to pay the way of a private business?
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Now that the cones have cone it appears that the residents views on the intellect of a small minority of the fans has been proved equal to that of the lack ofinterlect that the planners have in allowing such a situation to rise, and that is tha thery are missing the basics in education, unable to read , they are unable to read the “no match day parkuing signs” together with double parking near the junction of Sutton Road and the Old A5 they dont even have courtesy for other drivers or there fellow supporters.
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