“The proposed use of the development as a multi-pitch open air sports centre requiring 12 and 8 metre high mast floodlighting, a clubhouse, including an upper floor open ‘smokers’ balcony (many other centres have licences or have subsequently acquired them) sufficient car and visitor coach parking for travelling players and long opening hours, 364 days a year and 7 days a week all created in an open field .. in close proximity (sometimes as little as 3 metres) … Roe Green Conservation Area described by Brent Council as ‘the jewel in the crown’ (which seems fundamentally inappropriate in this case)”.
The village association examined the proposals carefully and objected, these are extracts from their statement:
(i) they demonstrated that the Powerleague company had previously installed their pitches in other communities and been less than truthful about them:
“We also made contact with local communities who have been affected by having Powerleague installations located within their neighbourhoods. These have included, Mill Hill, Enfield, Hanworth Park and further afield in Coventry, Birmingham, Bolton and other places. (see Appendix 1). What we found evident was that all have suffered both environmentally, socially and medically as a consequence of these developments and have consistently said that promises made by Powerleague at the planning stage have failed to materialise.”
“We have been led to believe that the majority of the consultants, including the designers a number of whom are based in Scotland, have never visited the site and all their design assumptions and opinions are based on desk-top research and their experience with other previous Powerleague developments.”
They identified that the site was not level, and that the options to rectify this had not been explained:
“we prepared a diagrammatic but accurate site section showing the 2 options under which the scheme could be worryingly developed (see Appendix 6). Option1 showed that in order to make a level pitch the playing area would need to be raised by forming a retaining wall … the luminaires at the top of the lamp stanchions would be approximately 7 metres higher than the roof ridges of the village houses. The alternative option would be to keep the playing pitch down at present ground levels at the northern end and to extensively excavate the site.. adversely create light pollution from the high mast floodlights and cause a reflective ‘sound bouncing’ .. Both of these options would necessitate the introduction of steps, railing and protective guards as well as the installation of a pedestrian ramp system”
