Outraged as taxes help club
Saturday 3rd November 2007, 11:45AM GMT.
I was appalled and outraged on reading the “Match Day Costs Shock” article on the front page of last Saturday’s Shropshire Star.
I, as a council tax payer, object most strongly to my taxes being used to fund such activities when I believe they should be funded by Shrewsbury Town Football Club.
If it is deemed necessary to close roads and restrict parking for a regular event to take place the costs of these should be borne by the event organisers. I understand that STFC, like other football clubs, is responsible for funding the policing of its home matches.
I do not see any difference between that and the access/parking issues.
The issues regarding parking and access were raised on several occasions during the so-called consultation period, but were generally ignored and we are now having to face the inevitable outcomes of on-going road closures, extra inconvenience and in-creased costs.
There has been an additional pedestrian crossing and access pathway created at Meole Brace Island linking it to STFC – what was the cost of this and who paid for it?
These are just some of the latest issues in the long-running saga of the relocation of STFC.
In my opinion the whole process was ill-conceived, very poorly planned and lacking in effective execution.
The people of Meole Brace have suffered long-term disruption and inconvenience and are now apparently being asked to, what I believe is, subsidise STFC for all of this!
Chris Painter, Shrewsbury
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Like you Chris, I am appalled and outraged that my council tax is used to fund such activities as the Flower Show, the West Mid Show etc. etc.
As you say “If it is deemed necessary to close roads and restrict parking for a regular event to take place the costs of these should be borne by the event organisers”. Quite right!
“The people of Meole Brace have suffered long-term disruption and inconvenience” you say. Try living in the Shirehall area around Dark Lane, you will know the real meaning of “disruption and inconvenience” Strangely enough, all caused by the staff & visitors to the Shirehall. This happens every working day not just once a fortnight.
Report abuse
Yet another unifomed letter about the New Meadow that the Shropshire Star seems to print on a regular basis!
The parking and access issues to the New Meadow were agreed by the club and the local authority as part of a 106 agreement linked to the planning consent for the ground. The local authority had every opportunity to charge the club a fee for road closures and parking restrictions around the ground, but felt they were not needed.
The closures parking restrictions around Meole and Sutton have come about through local people demanding them, despite no evidence that they were needed as fans were parking legally and not blocking roads. I live in Meale Brace and to claim there is “long term distruption” due to the football ground is totally incorrect.
If Mr Painter wants to complain about the cost of putting out parking cones he should direct them at the Sutton Area Residents Association – not STFC or the local authority. Presumably he will also be asking for similar costs to be borne by the Church at Sutton too – same road, same parking issues!
Report abuse
church at sutton same issues absoloute rubbish .
i love stfc supporters they think as above they know it all when it comes to the above problems and do not consider the fleecing of council tax payers as wrong .
Report abuse
support your local team!
your just a bunch of moaning inbreds
Report abuse
What about paying for the linking of pavements around Meole Island so that school children residing in Bayston Hill can travel safely to Meole and the Priory School. I never saw you letter then Mr Painter.
Why dont you use your intelligence and instead complain about the number of free car parking spaces at the Meole Brace Park and Ride on any matchday and suggest to the coucil that they could open these as revenue streams or question the delay in planning to give fans the consent to park in the Business Park.
Oh by the way, I am appauled at the council wasting money on repaving Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury. I never use that street, never shop in there and consider it to be a dispicable. However, Id never consider writing such a ridiculous and selfish statement.
Report abuse
The football club didn’t ask for these restrictions – the people of Meole & Sutton did, so the costs ought to be sent there. There was no need for parking restrictions in Monkmoor and other areas when STFC were at Gay Meadow for decades, so why should there be need for them now?
Do away with all restictions and thereofre the cones and save the taxpayers of the County this money.
Report abuse
It never ceases to amaze me how people love to complain. I have lived on belevidere road and have been effected by shire hall and the old gay meadow. I walked always to the gay meadow and was amazed not only by my tolarence but the tolerance of those in cherry orchard, monkmoor and coleham. No one objected to the parking and the fans.
Then we have an opportunity to move the club and town forward and we hit the not in my back yard response. With the ongoing actions of shrewsbury and atcham council with the football club and parking restrictions, i fear we are heading for the town that is the most unfriendly, least cooperative, and stuck in the dark ages town of the year. I walk with amusement through sutton watching people make sure the bollard does not move!!! congratulations to all who only seek a bollard and obstruction
Report abuse
Yet again lone crusader Meadow matt on the defence of the biggest blot on the shrewsbury landscape. How you can compare a handful of cars on a sunday morning to potential stadium traffic is laughable. Mind you if STFC keep playing the way they are, then they may find their attendances similar to those of a small church. It will just be meadow matt and a handful of other die hards, still booing the team however.
Report abuse
Why does the Shropshire Star persist in publishing such badly uninformed letters like this regarding STFC?
Report abuse
I believe that the whole of Shrewsbury are laughing at the Sutton and Meole Residents. I live in Shrewsbury, I am a fan of Shrewsbury Town and also a keen gardner and actually welcome the new paths being built. They should have been built years ago. I often like a stroll to the Percy Throwers Garden Centre and can not believe some of the selfish comments that the Shropshire Star are printing. I once thought Shrewsbury was a happy and friendly place to live. It seems to me that some have forgotten the meaning of living together and sharing.
Remember back in the late 80s – it was Meole Brace residents who said NO to a stadium then, but there were no complaints when Sainsburys, the retail park, the duel carriage way or the park and ride was built.
Perhaps the council should build a new prison or some local asylum seeker sanctuary in the area so that the people can actually complain properly about something.
Report abuse
salop fan – Yes, really well informed, consructive comment there.
With regards to this letter, I find it very disappointing that the ‘Not In My Back Yard’ brigage, having lost their battle to stop the stadium being built, are now continuing little more than a petty, vindictive ‘guerilla war’ via the local media.
STFC supporters are not drunken yobs believe it or not, a good majority of them are local taxpayers, and share the cost of the roadclosures as a result of the new stadium.
Local football fans also share in the costs of staging events such as the Shrewsbury Flower Show and the Shrewsbury Carnival, yet these are accepted as part of town life.
Whilst many locals to the ground lambast the inconvenience once a fortnight, they conveniently forget about the continual improvement in infrastructure in the Meole Brace area that will be of convenience to all.
Report abuse
and notice that after the first 10 or so games there is not one mention of anti social behaviour! Because there has not been any!
That is one rumour quashed.
Same 6 or so people, same irritating attacks, different script.
Report abuse
G Peters (surely not the G Peters!)The point about the Church on Sutton road is a valid one.
Its made to suggest that some one can park on this strech of road on a sunday as long as they go to church, but not on a Saturday if they are going to the football!
If parking restrictions are to be made on Sutton Road then they should apply to everyone – if parking in this road is causing problems then lets get double yellow lines put down there.
Also you must be so annoyed how high STFCs attendances are this season – 20% up on last year despite the team playing badly. Plus with all the off field revenue and support for local businesses the ground is generating the New Meadow is a fast becoming a big asset to the football club and the town as a whole.
Report abuse
Girls, girls, girls, there are far too many nasty and uncalled for comments being posted and if I may say to Matthew Ashton before you start questioning the intelligence of anyone can I suggest you invest in a spellchecker?
Report abuse
load of old bull a few cars on a sunday is very long way off from 100′s on a saturday as for anti social give it time .
Report abuse
As a council tax payer, i object strongly to MY council tax being used to stop someone parking infront of someone elses house. The handfull of people in Sutton who opposed the New Meadow all along, and the bizzarre behaviour of many of our councillors, are the ones who should really be made to foot the bill. I suspect if this where the case, then parking restrictions in the area would be lifted some what. All this fuss and expence is for on average, 3 hours every two weeks. Unbelievable.
Report abuse
Am I a STFC supporter? Definitely YES.
Do I think that there are better “Needs” for taxpayers’ money to be spent on? Definitely YES.
We all have views on whether Shrewsbury should actually have a football club or not. We all know that some would like to see an end to STFC.
We all have views on how our taxes should be spent. We would all like to see our taxes used on something that we have an interest in and not on other issues that we disagree with.
I must stress that this method of debate (Writing to the Star and for others to comment.) is not the right media to use to resolve these issues. This subject or similar issues have been debated before and there is still no agreement, no compromise or understanding of any of the issues being raised.
I would suggest that this media is no different to a shouting match where we all shout out our opinions and we don’t listen to the responses. Therefore nothing gets done, nothing gets decided and we continue to bicker.
I predict that in 2/3 years time the same comments will continue to be made. I am not saying that you should not debate the subject but, in my opinion, this method, only encourages misunderstandings and helps to divide the community.
Report abuse
andrew finch said: Nov 5th, 2007 at 5:12 pm load of old bull a few cars on a sunday is very long way off from 100’s on a saturday as for anti social give it time .
The issue I’m trying to make is parking restrictions should be based on sound traffic safety issues. I’ve yet to hear a valid argument as to how a car parked on Sutton road on a sunday, or any other day of the week is ok, yet if the same car owner parks there on a saturday its an offence. I’m not asking for the whole of sutton to be opened up for everyone to park in, just that when rules are made they apply to everyone, based on valid traffic laws not misinformed assumptions.
Home Office figures show that In 2006/07 over 80,000 people attended Shrewsbury matches and only 23 arrests were made, an arrest rate of less than 0.01% – perhaps the anti-football minority would care to comment on these figures, although I suspect not!
Report abuse
I can claim to be new to the whole new Stadium debate, but I am not as a tax payer outraged by my taxes ensuring the safety of residents and visitors to Shrewsbury whether this be for the football, carnival, West-Mid show or any other leisure activity. I have been to the New Meadow and was disappointed that there was no parking – anywhere! I used the Park and Ride at Harlescott and waited a great deal of time to get back to my car after the game.
Am I outraged? No!
Will I go again to spend an enjoyable couple of hours with my son watching football? Of course!
Report abuse
meadow matt , home office figures??? one case is one case to many as the one person it affected.
Report abuse
I agree with you that any arrests are one to many, but statistics prove that football supporters are no more or less likely to commit offences than any other members of the public, so shouldn’t be subjected to additional restrictions. We’re not asking for special treatment, just for issues relating to the club and the ground to be judged in a fair and equal mannor based on proper reserach and legislation,
Report abuse
Yes Andrew, I agree it is one person too many as far as the victim is concerned. However, we don’t live in a trouble-free world – no that’s right, not even in wonderful Shrewsbury (self-proclaimed ‘town of flowers’) So I would suggest that you compare Matt’s figures with the number of arrests made in Shrewsbury town centre over the same period. I would think you’ll find that more people are arrested on a friday and saturday night. Then I guess you’ll suggest (with no evidence to back it up) that they are all football fans aswell.
Report abuse
What about tax payers money spent to dig up perfectly good pavements in Shrewsbury Town centre,i bet none of the shops have to pay anything for it,anything goes as long as it is nothing to do with S.T.F.C.
Report abuse
Thats right Cliff, have a ‘go’ at someone when you don’t like reading a good answer to a debate instead of responding to what was said.
Report abuse
Quite frankly Mr Ashton I don’t give a toss about STFC, employers should be welcomed to the area in whatever form that may be but I do believe that they should pay their way, I just find it deplorable that someone questions the intelligence of another before getting their own house in order. PS.You missed an apostrophe out in your first word. Please do try harder. Cliff XXX
Report abuse
Cliff, I do give a toss about Shrewsbury Town, and they do pay their way. The debatable issue is that council tax payers are demanding they foot the bill for something they are not liable to pay, which Matt Ashton has already pointed out
A little understanding of the circumstaces would help! rather than just being condescending.
Report abuse
I’m with Cliff on this one,why should a population of about 80,000 subsidise the 5,000 (and not necessarily from the borough)that go to the football? I make that 6.25%, hardly a recipe for democracy, and how do other councils and football clubs reconcile the outlay of such services?
Report abuse
I also agree with Cliff, why should the taxpayer subsidise a private company, [and that also goes for Rover and farmers]? I may be mistaken but weren’t a number of carnivals either cancelled or been on the verge of cancellation because of road closure costs, what makes a football club so privileged to be exempted?
Report abuse
I’m not sure if Chris and Brian are aware of this but the Football club are also rate payers to the local authority. Are they saying that they should pay for council services, but not recieve any in return, unless they pay a second fee? Doesn’t sound very democratic to me.
The road closure and parking restrictions have been put in place at the request of residents -they are perfectly entitiled to ask for this, and indeed pay for such services through their council tax.
There is a debate to be had on what value the club and residents get for the income they each give to the local authority. In my opionion the football club is a net contributor to the Councils finances, where as residents (myself included) recieve far more for our money than we pay for.
Report abuse