Stadium changes REJECTED as neighbours complain of ‘unacceptable’ impact

A stadium in Oldham cannot hold events on its pitch on two nights of the year because the impact on neighbours would be ‘unacceptable’, councillors have ruled.

The owners of Vestacare Stadium on Whitebank Road in Limeside, home to Avro FC, applied to the council’s planning department in the hopes of putting on two events a year. 

The events – either music events, beer festivals or boxing matches – would be to help keep the club running by bringing in additional income. 

But seven local residents opposed the plans, stating they had ‘no confidence’ the managers would adhere to strict conditions imposed by the council. 

The scheme was discussed at Oldham’s planning committee (pictured below) last week, where the majority of councillors rejected the proposal. 

The non-league stadium, built on leased council-owned land, would host 1,300 people for the events, the same number of spectators that attend on match days. The pitch’s opening hours would be extended until 11pm on the two event days. Currently the stadium is open between 8am and 10pm Mondays to Fridays and between 8am and 8pm on the weekend. 

The owners originally applied to hold four nights of events a year over the summer months between May and August, but this proposal was rejected earlier this year and has now been reduced to two. 

Officers recommended the approval of the new scheme under strict conditions, which would see the stadium have to submit a bespoke event management plan ahead of any event, giving council officers the final say on whether the occasion could go ahead. The management plan was intended to assuage fears about highways issues, as well as noise and light pollution. 

But Mr Glennon (pictured above), who spoke to the committee on behalf of the residents, claimed there was ‘no evidence to demonstrate the concerns have been addressed’. 

“You’ve settled down to sleep on a Sunday evening, you’ve got the kids in bed ready for school and ready for work,” he said. “But should this application be approved, beyond 11 o’clock, you’ve then got to deal with people leaving the event in high spirits. That creates noise and disturbance. It would have a significant adverse effect [on residents] – even though this may only be two days.” 

Mr Glennon added that he believed the stadium ‘had a history of breaching existing planning curfews’. He pointed to a recent Avro vs Bury FC game, where floodlights had reportedly been left on after the curfew. A representative for the stadium later explained that this was due to a medical emergency that took place on the pitch.

The stadium’s agent, Mr James Berggren, told the committee: “There will not be a greater number of people travelling to or attending events than would usually be expected for big match days and the council will be able to control noise. 

“The conditions imposed ensure that the council would retain control of the events, and ensure that the amenities of nearby residents are protected on each of the two days.” 

But councillors were not convinced by the draft management plan presented to the committee as an example, with nine of 14 elected members voting against the plans. 

Councillor Abdul Wahid (pictured above) said: “[This draft management plan] doesn’t give us any confidence, and I can understand the residents not having any confidence in that. What comfort can we take from the draft plan? I’d argue none. There’s nothing there to say what the limits would be and what the end result would be.” 

Councillor suggested ‘testing the waters’ with a temporary license application before approving permanent changes and refused the application on account of ‘unacceptable noise, light and disturbance to nearby residents’.