The Fulham Supporters’ Trust yesterday released a statement in which it called on the Hammersmith and Fulham Council to remain with its earlier commitment to endorse a new Riverside Stand, which will raise the capacity of Craven Cottage to about 30,000 seats.
The Supporters’ Trust points at the support the plans have among local residents and the tangible benefits they will provide to the community, most notably by opening up the area around the river Thames with a riverside walk. According to the Trust, during talks with the club 91% of local residents have stated to be in favour of the plans.
At the same time Brighton & Hove Albion are also moving forward with their desire to expand The Amex with a further 8,000 seats to a total of 30,750 places.
After announcing their plans earlier this year several parties had come forward in protest of the expansion, but most of the objections seem to have been dropped by now.
Most vocal in its concerns had been the University of Brighton, which had feared disruptions of access to the adjacent campus. The University has now however given its backing to the plans after the club promised that traffic problems would be addressed. A similar concern was voiced by the local railways who feared not to be able to cope with the additional passengers. In return, Brighton has promised to invest £200,000 in improvements of Falmer Station. Some objections remain though, in particular of local citizens that are concerned about parking issues on matchdays,
[UPDATE] Brighton has today (25/4) been granted planning permission for the expansion of The Amex. The capacity will be increased in two phases, with an initial 5,000 seats added before the start of next season, and the rest in December 2012 and 2013. [CORRECTION] The original article stated that Brighton had not yet applied for a planning permission. This has been corrected.