Diane McLean: all set for next Wednesday opening to the planning hearing
THE campaign to preserve greyhound racing at Wimbledon received a timely boost in the week before the government planning inspector's hearing into the future of the Plough Lane stadium at Merton Town Hall, Morden.
The shot in the arm came when Sir Edward Lister, London's deputy mayor for planning, told the Racing Post: 'The Mayor [Boris Johnson] has always been of the opinion that Wimbledon Stadium should remain a greyhound racing venue. However, if this is not viable, he would accept the site being used for other stadia-based sport, as long as it is in line with strategic planning policy.'
The Racing Post had raised the issue with the Mayor's Office after an apparent change in tone was noted in its latest letter to the planning inquiry, dated January 8. This stated: 'While the retention of a greyhound stadium site use at the site would be ideal, the intensification of a sporting use at the site in form of other financially viable stadia uses, where feasible, would ultimately be acceptable in strategic planning terms.'
Previously the mayor had been more specific in backing the existing greyhound track, the last remaining with a London postcode. However, the deputy mayor's clarification was warmly welcomed by Diane McLean, the greyhound owner and barrister who is leading the We Want Wimbledon campaign.
She said: 'Paschal Taggart and myself see this as a real boost for us. Greyhound racing is indeed viable and, despite the lack of investment there, crowds have been excellent for some time at Wimbledon. As an experienced operator, Paschal would not be making the investment if it was anything other than holding massive and exciting potential.'
McLean claims that Galliard, the owners of the site who are hoping to exploit a residential development, have 'an interest in claiming otherwise - which is why we suspect the negative letter from Nama about other plans - i.e. greyhound racing - has possibly emerged.
'Make no mistake, greyhound fans need to know the gloves are off. It's time to get down and fight for what we want - it's not going to be handed to us on a plate. But greyhound racing is a wonderful asset, and Paschal's plan delivers real benefit and jobs to the community.
'Where else locally can families as a group go together? We've also had good news that the local residents are very much behind us, they don't want a football stadium. Greyhound racing is very much alive and kicking and I hope we can demonstrate that next Wednesday and Thursday at the Merton hearing.'
0 comments:
Post a Comment