No one is talking David Conn as gospel on this issue. He's rather too close to his mates at OT.
I think that is a bit below the belt mate considering the fantastic work Conn has done over Hillsborough over the last couple of decades.
Nevertheless, even if the whole process was dressed up in pantomime cloak and dagger and drowned in a box in the Mersey, you tell me what responsibility the club has to residents in the area above and beyond any other private company in the area.
It might be just me but what other private companies have spouted cringe worthy bollocks about being the catalyst for regeneration and what other private company would of got planning permission to build in a Victorian park.
And you tell me what owning 10 houses in the previous two years has had to affect blight in the area that had been going on for the past thirty years.
And how council sorting out 1600 otherwise on-the-brink homes is a negative for that area.
And while you’re at it, tell me how taking proposals to consult with people of the area before they’re set in stone is an unacceptable way for council to behave.
From the time line from here
http://anfieldsrockfieldtriangle.weebly.com/residents-forum.html#nabble-td5001033Oct 1999; By John Campbell and Larry Neild - Liverpool Echo. An investigation was launched today into "secret" plans for the redevelopment of land around Anfield stadium. Anfield Councillor Joe Kenny called for the inquiry, after discovering that local officials and LFC were discussing radical plans for the area, months before the public was told.
Dec 1999; By Micheal Doran - Star. Liverpool Football Club has plans to develop the main stand and Anfield Road ends of its stadium - demolishing nearby homes. Contrary to previous statements the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, made the admission in a face to face meeting with the Oakfield and District Business Association.
Dec1999; By Micheal Doran - Star. James McFadden, of Cloister Developments, has been revealed by LFC chief executive Mr Parry as a major cog in the clubs designs to expand.
Speaking exclusively to the Star Mr McFadden, who hails from Glasgow, said he has sold several properties to LFC this year.May 2000; By Phil McNulty BBC Sport Online chief football writer - In fact, the major surprise is that Liverpool have decided to opt for a capacity that is only 10,000 above the current level at Anfield. The ideal scenario for Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry and his board would be to stay at historic Anfield and build on its rich traditions by increasing its 44,000-plus capacity up towards the 55,000 mark.
March 2001; By Larry Neild/Liverpool Echo. Cllr Joe Kenny, who has been critical of the Stanley Park plan, said today: "I have been pushing for a public referendum over Stanley Park. A senior official has told me to hang fire because it might not be needed. That can only mean one thing - there will be no stadium on Stanley Park, so no need for a referendum."
Oct 2001; By Mark Thomas/Liverpool Echo. Rick Parry said: "Our proposal is that we work as a preferred partner with the council to carry out the detailed feasibility and options appraisal work necessary to achieve an increased capacity in Anfield, either in a new stadium or by extending the current one"
April 2002; By Jane Woodhead - Liverpool Echo. This latest research by the Manchester company GVA Grimley has taken into account how the expansion of the club's stadium fits in with the regeneration of the area, including housing and environmental improvements.
May 2002; By Jane Woodhead and Mark Thomas - Liverpool Echo. A draft report was put together by Manchester-based consultants GVA Grimley on behalf of Liverpool City Council. Today the council's ruling executive board was told that consultants GVA Grimley have concluded Stanley Park is the best option both for the club and the Anfield Breckfield area. The GVA Grimley report says: "The decline of the Anfield Breckfield area has been rapid and continues at a significant rate. "The spiral of decline is vicious and unless arrested will result in the death of Anfield Breckfield as a community"
Dec 2002; By Mike Hornby - Daily Post. Jean Hill, 60, a member of the Friends of Stanley Park, said: "I grew up in Anfield and watched Liverpool Football Club become an international business worth millions. "But in all that time, the club has never put anything back into the community. "We hear about grand plans for regeneration, but there is no real commitment in terms of what will be built and how much it will cost. "This is just a land-grab exercise and the promises are meaningless."
Oct 2003; By Ananova. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: "These plans will have a massive impact on the area."This is something which has followed extensive dialogue with the community in the last three years. The club sees the new stadium as a catalyst for the regeneration of the entire area, which will be to the benefit of the whole community.
"However, we made clear the time scales involved are now critical if the stadium is ready for 2006 and the regeneration package completed in time for the European Capital of Culture in 2008."
June 2004; By Al Campbell - LFC Online. Chairman of the Anfield Regeneration Action Committee Joe Kenny handed the protest in at Millenium house, home of the city council planning department, last Tuesday. Mr Kenny said: "Today the people of Anfield delivered over 10,000 individual objections as well as an official statement outlining the reasons why the city council must not approve Liverpool Football Club's planning application. "The official letter carries over 100 planning objections. In the light of this, we expect Liverpool City Council to reject LFC's plans as they are in total contradiction with the council's own planning policy. "If passed, Liverpool City Council would be acting illegally and the individual councillors could well be culpable."
Sept 2004; By Paul Eaton - LFC Official Website. Rick Parry has spoken of his delight after the Reds were granted planning approval for a new stadium - but he's warned the Reds will pull out of the project if costs spiral out of control.
March 2005; BBC Sport Online. Chief executive Rick Parry has insisted Liverpool will secure the investment for their new Stanley Park stadium. The cost of the scheme is reportedly about £130m but Parry is confident it will happen, and he also denied reports chairman David Moore could stand down. "It's more than we first thought, costs are increasing and the nature of the project has changed but we're confident we can fund it," said Parry.
June 2005; By Nick Coligan - Liverpool Echo. The ECHO revealed yesterday that government officials have knocked back Liverpool's bid for £23m of taxpayers' money for the stadium project. The club wanted to spend about £9m on the roof, soundproof wall cladding and an under-ground car park. But the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) says it will not allow public money to be spent on construction costs, although it will back the regeneration of Anfield and Breckfield. Liverpool council is now drawing up a set of proposals which the NWDA could support instead.
July 2006; By Larry Neild - City Editor. Liverpool FC already has planning permission to build its new stadium in the area.
But the scheme is linked to a wide-scale New Anfield Regeneration plan that will see new and improved homes and leisure facilities for thousands living in the shadow of the club.
Cllr Clucas told the executive board that, if the stadium does not proceed, the regeneration package also falls.Sept 2006; By BBC Sport Online. Council leader Warren Bradley said: "Liverpool Football Club is one of the best-known and most successful in the world. "Yet it stands in one of the poorest areas, not only in the city, but in the country. "What we are looking to do is not just provide a new home for the football club fitting for their status as one of the world's best, but use their success to spark a dramatic revival of the Anfield and Breckfield areas."
July 2007; By Nick Coligan - Liverpool Echo. Now Liverpool council is being given a firm timescale which the club hopes to stick to. It would mean:
A planning application being lodged on July 25 2007.
The council granting planning permission by the end of October 2007.
Government officials agreeing not to intervene by the end of November 2007.
Work starting at the end of the year.
Councillors will also be asked to agree a 999-year lease for the site to new company Stadco, which is being set up by Liverpool to develop the ground. The club would have to pay rent of £300,000 a year.
Oct 2008; By Tony Barrett - Liverpool Echo, Liverpool today slammed speculation suggesting they are considering ditching plans to build a new stadium. A Sunday newspaper report claimed the club has hired architects to look at the possibility of redeveloping Anfield instead of going ahead with their proposals to construct a new ground on nearby Stanley Park. But senior club officials dismissed the story out of hand, insisting it is without any foundation. A club spokesman told the ECHO: “The story is completely wrong. “No-one has been asked to look at increasing the capacity of Anfield with a view to us staying at the present ground.
Aug 2008; TEAMtalk. Dr Rogan Taylor, founder of the fans' group ShareLiverpoolFC, who want to take the club into community ownership, hit out saying: "This has not come as a surprise. The Americans did not have any money for the stadium."We have been saying this for a long time. These guys are a broken record, they are the soap opera of Anfield Road. This just goes on and on and is just an excuse for not starting the stadium. "The money goes up every time. Three years ago it was £150million, now it is £350-£400million. And now they are talking about "re-visiting" the capacity issue.
Dec 2009; BBC Sport Online. Work on Liverpool's new stadium in Stanley Park could begin as early as April 2010, the leader of Liverpool City Council has told the BBC. Warren Bradley said Liverpool have told the council they are "very close now to securing the finances". He added it would be "in April that hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll see some activity on Stanley Park".
Oct 2010; This is Anfield - website. The club hope to start work on either increasing Anfield’s capacity to 60,000 or a new stadium very shortly after the sale is completed.
Oct 2010; BBC NEWS - Liverpool FC's new owners have met the city's council leader to discuss regeneration plans for Anfield. City council leader Joe Anderson met NESV'S Tom Werner and explained the urgency felt by local residents in Anfield. Mr Anderson said the talks "went really well."The council wants the club to decide quickly on whether to build a new, redeveloped or shared stadium. Council and club officials are due to have further talks in two weeks time.
July 2011; David Bartlett City editor of the Post and Echo Published @ Liverpool Daily Post, reported; The club says it is cheaper to stay at Anfield but that "land/property acquisition, environmental and statutory issues" are creating barriers to the club's ambition. LFC clearly want the council to change its mind and chief executive Ian Ayre says it will not be pressured into making a decision. For land and property acquisition, the club needs to buy up nearby houses. Without help from the council to issue Compulsory Purchase Orders this could take years or mean the club paying hugely inflated prices for houses. The environmental and statutory issue refers to a number of issues. If the club wants to redevelop Anfield it will need to go for yet another planning approval that too will take time. It is my understanding that the height the club would like to add to stands could present real problems in achieving planning permission.
August 2011; LFC MD Ayer said: "The right to light issue is the reason we need to take the other streets out. There is only the Main Stand and the Anfield Road Stand that could be redeveloped"
Feb 2012;
Arena Housing’s Dave Litherland at the BNEC Centre on 2nd February. When asked about Lothair & Alroy Roads, Dave Litherland confirmed Arena Housing had no plans for any refurbishment works in Lothair Road until LFC decide what they are going to do. Apr 2012; Plans seen by the Liverpool ECHO suggest that the Liverpool city council bosses plan to demolish houses left derelict by Liverpool Football Club in order to speed up the regeneration of the Anfield area. The land will be grassed over as part of the wider regeneration of the Rockfield residential area. An LFC spokesman said: "We have been consulted on the regeneration plans by Liverpool council. "As always we remain collaborative and supportive of any initiatives to improve our local area, but discussions at this stage would be far too preliminary to comment further. "We remain committed to supporting our local community in all areas."
May 2012; Liverpool city council's assistant director Mark Kitts proposes Option 3; preferred option of Liverpool city council and according to Mark Kitts - Compatible with an LFC options review.
May 2012 ; LFC MD Ian Ayer stated; "We're still deciding whether to stay or go" and later he went on to say; "Go and look at the economics of a £300million new build for 15,000 new seats.”It's pretty hard to make that stack up"
June 2012 ; by David Conn, guardian.co.uk. Mark Kitts, told the Guardian that the demolitions would make the number of houses more "sustainable" and allow for refurbishment. Mr Kitts said Liverpool have confirmed, in discussions with the council, that these demolitions would meet the club's requirements.
June 2012 ; by David Bartlett, Liverpool Echo. Mr Kitts said: "We have been working with the club very closely and they have said this will accommodate their needs if they stay at Anfield and refurbish the current stadium." The main issue standing in the way of the Reds expanding Anfield has been the "right to light" of nearby residents. Mr Kitts has said that the demolitions would solve those issues.
