In response to a significant number of enquiries from supporters regarding the development of the new main stand on Stonebridge Road, FleetOnline has spoken to vice chairman Peter Varney.
He said, “As supporters will be aware, the club received planning consent for the new main stand on Stonebridge Road on 8th April. What they may not be aware of is that Gravesham Borough Council attached a significant number of conditions to that consent and we have had to work very hard in recent weeks to satisfy those conditions which must be met before any construction work can commence.
“On 22nd May we will be making an extremely detailed application to the Council with a mass of supporting documentation for one third of the conditions to be discharged as having been complied with by the club. The Council has eight weeks to respond to our application but we are hopeful that the timescale can be shortened.
“One of the most challenging conditions relates to the number of archaeology requirements imposed upon us. To date we have had to dig six bore holes to significant depths at a substantial cost. It is likely that more archaeological and geotechnical bore holes will be required to cover future phases of the stadium redevelopment and possibly after demolition of the Stonebridge Road stand, but we hope this can be programmed into the construction work without any significant effect on the build programme.
“We await the agreement of our proposals by both the Council and the Archaeology Team at Kent County Council before we can begin construction.”
