Brent Council have been threatened with legal action
in light of their decision to grant Tottenham Hotspur use of Wembley Stadium.
The Premier League club’s approval to host 22 extra
full-capacity games at the national venue was subject to intense protesting from
local residents.
Denise Cheong of Wembley Champions previously said how little faith she had in the council, and says a ‘plan b’ post committee task
force has been set up to help with the issue.
She said: “Brent
residents and businesses and their visitors will suffer if the uncapped games
go ahead.
“The Wembley
Champions task force arranged a meeting with senior people at the Council
because we prefer a peaceful outcome.”
However, Cheong insists Wembley Champions will fight
if need be for what they believe is the right decision.
“We do not
want to use our ‘plan c’, which is legal action against the Council with our
caseload of evidence dating back to 2015.
“We hope to
be able to reach an amicable solution so we are no longer ‘at war’. It’s very
exhausting for us little people having to fight for our rights to a better
quality of life.”
Wembley Champions are not
the only ones upset by Brent Council’s decision.
Tanya & Paolo Di
Paolo, residents of Wembley Central, claim that the council have ignored
environmental and social concerns.
"It will have a severe impact on their quality of life and the ability to enjoy the local amenities,” they said.
"The traffic levels in
Wembley on a day to day basis are already at choking point this will make it
worse. When built this stadium was intended to be a green stadium - adding to pollution levels makes
this a joke.
“When job opportunities are used as a reason
to increase events , this is not relevant as staff are predominately not local
and are supplied by numerous agencies.
"Ignoring the two
requirements on the initial planning sets a dangerous precedent and would show
that councillors suit themselves against the will of the electorate. If this
application is passed all local residents can do is vote against those who
passed it.
“We feel that this will then open the door for another 1 or 2 years of hell with a Chelsea
residency while their new stadium is built."
Another
local group, Park Lane Residents Association, claim they were not even
contacted by Brent Council regarding the decision.
"We at Park Lane Residents
Association did not receive any communication from Brent in connection
with the planning application
associated with the extra games at Wembley Stadium for Tottenham
Hotspur."
Brent Council are also accused of a lack of transparency by a member of
South Meadows Ltd, a local business.
"We never received
consultation documents, I mentioned that in my objection as well.
“Not
surprisingly my sister who has
never objected to anything and lives in Sudbury received consultation documents
for the stadium. However, as she has objected to this, I'm guessing she's never
going to receive anything in the future again."
Tottenham recently announced they have delayed a
decision on their use of Wembley Stadium next season until they are sure about
whether their new home will be ready for the start of the 2018/19 season.
If they stay at White Hart Lane next year, they will
have to re-apply to host the necessary full-capacity games at Wembley.
Brent Council have declined to comment on the subject
furthermore.
