News Date: Tuesday 6th March 2012
Packed public meeting organised by Lancing Conservatives debates Mash Barn football proposals
Over one hundred local residents turned out for a meeting about the proposed Brighton & Hove Albion FC training ground at the Lancing Tabernacle on Saturday 3rd March.
East Worthing & Shoreham MP, Tim Loughton, chaired the meeting at which Martin Perry, CEO of Brighton FC, gave a presentation about the development and took questions from the audience.
Representatives from the Mash Barn Community Group were also in attendance to give their views, as residents questioned the impact on local traffic, wild life and noise levels.
Lancing Councillor Andrew Barnes, who helped organise the meeting, said he felt it had been a real success. ‘It was a great opportunity to give the parties involved a chance to talk directly, and it cleared up a lot of confusion around the nature of the development. The high turnout at the meeting reflected the community’s engagement with local issues and their desire to make sure their views are heard. ‘
This meeting, the latest in a series of community meetings held by Tim Loughton MP to get residents views, comes shortly before Lancing Parish Council are due to decide on their recommendations to Adur Council’s planning committee. The Parish Council are holding a special Council meeting at 7pm 8th March at the Parish Hall, Lancing, where the public will again be able to give their views before Parish Councillors vote on the development.
Tim commented:
‘This was a very important meeting to make sure that local residents were able to raise concerns at first hand with Brighton and Hove Albion over their proposals and I was very grateful that the top man at the Seagulls, Martin Perry, was able to attend in person to answer everyone’s questions. Whilst securing this significant investment by the Seagulls would be a major feather in the cap for Adur and could provide a launch pad for the much needed regeneration of Lancing, there are clearly a number of issues yet to be resolved and more work needs to be done.
Whether or not the project goes through, as always it is really important that local people feel they have had the opportunity to have their voices heard and I am pleased that this meeting along with other consultations, being led by Lancing Conservatives, was part of that process.
There were no fewer than nine local Conservative Councillors at the meeting including Lancing Councillor, Angie Mills, Parish Council Chairman, Ann Bridges, and of course Parish Councillor, Andy Barnes, who has been liaising with councillors and the residents action group and has been crucial in keeping everyone informed.’
