Pompey Plan Fratton Park Improvements

IMPROVEMENTS will be made at Fratton Park as part of major proposals to build a nearby Tesco superstore.

As reported, a bid has been put forward by Point Estates and the retail giant to set up a supermarket and petrol station behind the Fratton end at the home of Pompey.

Part of the proposals, if planning permission is granted, is that cash will be given by Point Estates to the club towards its long-term investment plans.

Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet will decide on Monday whether part of the former Jayhards site close to Fratton Park off nearby Rodney Road should be sold to Point Estates, so it can use it for the development.

The firm also hopes to make use of the nearby former BT site which it owns – but that depends on whether a restrictive covenant ordering no residential or retail use on it to be lifted.

Another part of the former Jayhards site and land in Alverstone Road could be used by Pompey as a 250-space car park for players and fans.

Mark Catlin, Pompey’s chief executive, said plans to improve Fratton Park were still in the early stages and the funding is part of a long-term investment.

‘This will be a massive boost for the club,’ he said.

‘What we are looking to do is develop a long-term, strategic regeneration of Fratton Park over the next 10 years or so, and this money will give us a good starting point in order to fulfil 
our long-term aims for the club.’

While the amount is confidential, it will help pay for maintenance of the stands. New electrics need to be fitted and steps running down to exits need realigning.

If extra funding is found, then the long term goal is to replace the north stand, which at capacity holds 7,500 fans, and build a new one with corporate boxes – though that could cost around £10m.

John Kimbell, of the Pompey Supporters’ Trust, which owns the club, said: ‘We welcome any investment because it has been neglected by so many owners for a long time.

‘Fans are obviously going to have their own personal opinions about having a Tesco superstore there, but people going to Fratton Park obviously want to watch in a comfortable setting. If that investment will make that happen I am sure it will be welcomed.’

A Tesco spokesman said a planning application is due to be submitted very soon.

Opposition though continues over the Tesco development close to Fratton Park.

Two petitions started by Andrew Manning, of Portsmouth Fruit & Flower Ltd, in Eastney Road, Portsmouth, have attracted about 3,000 signatures and there are 500 letters ready to be given to the council.

Campaigners are worried about the impact the store will have on small businesses and the level of traffic.

Mr Manning said: ‘My view is exactly the same. Tesco is killing everything.

‘Come along this parade and you won’t find anywhere else like it anywhere in the town. Trade won’t be affected at first, but give it a couple of years and people will start drifting.’

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/pompey-plan-fratton-park-improvements-1-5849543

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Not a great deal of information but sounds good either way!

 

Personally, I find Tesco (and ASDA) to be a particularly repugnant corporate companies, but they, like the other big 2 understand what customers want, and the sad truth is that local independent traders have often failed to adapt to customers changing needs, for a number of reasons, including that they don't have the buying power of the big national stores.

If you stand back and watch them in action, they appear to have a clear intention to kill the competition, no matter how small the competitor is, and customers are sleepwalking into an homogenous retail society.

Although having said that, I hate them less than Amazon who have not only cornered the on-line sector they also rip-off small traders.

 

Whenever I see a news story about Tesco I'm always reminded of a comment from Frankie Boyle on Mock the Week: "By the year 2020, we shall rule the earth - Tesco, every little helps!"

 

Tesco built a superstore in my home town in sussex.......it has killed local trade......to the point that 65% of the high street shops have closed and are up for rent! Local small shops simply cannot compete with the superior buying power tesco has.........it is unfortunate, but life!

 

Clearly BP like me you have to travel a reasonable distance to get to FP.....figure we should consider asking the team to give us half our petrol money back for today's first half showing. And yes Tesco.....a love hate relationship for many I suspect.

 

yep I travel from the far side of east sussex.....nearly into kent..........its a killer drive home after a display like that! If wallace throws one more hissy fit........i swear I am taking him home in my car afterwards.........then he can see what a real hissy fit is

 

East Kent Coast for me...so yes get where you are coming from entirely....journey always seems to take forever when we lose. all the best.

 

So, does this mean that should the Tescos plan go ahead, it will not be possible to redevelop the stadium by turning the pitch through 90 degrees?

 

It will be possible. In the end it will come down to money - the original plans haven't changed............. at least not yet.

 

I Sympathize with the plight of local trade, but wood hazard a guess that its a very small minority that would actually be against the Tesco development. Tesco must see potential for enough of a catchment in the Milton/ Fratton area to make such an investment viable............so you would have to assume that there is enough people willing to shop there? I know from experience that Tesco perform many surveys once they have identified a potential site..........so I would guess enough people have responded in a positive way...............which inevitably means the minority will loose..........

 

The ones who will lose are the traders themselves, they will lose their livelihoods.

Part of the problem is that they can undercut local traders with their enormous buying power, we've all read about farmers who are contracted to sell at rock bottom prices. Not sure how many know that the 'offers' are forced on suppliers, they cover the cost of the offer, not the supermarkets. It's an evil empire for sure.

 

My sister had a little shop in an arcade in West Malling, a village here in Kent. A young man opened up a small greengrocers in the arcade, Tesco put in a complaint to the local council - who ignored it because they had wanted the greengrocer to open up. There was a well established sweet shop in the arcade, at Christmas time she discovered Tesco suddenly selling the exact sweet baskets she was, not their normal fare at all, but of course undercut the price.

The best example of Tesco is the small town in Scotland who had one award winning, long established, family owned supermarket. Tesco had all their products on offer, until the local supermarket was put out of business when, of course, they raised all their prices to the national average. The example of this shop was quoted in a governmental report on cloned high streets several years ago.

On one hand you can't blame shoppers for buying things as cheap as possible, but on the other hand those same shoppers haven't given a single thought to the consequences of their actions.

Probably the best example is in America - they are well into their crafts over there, wherever you went there were specialist fabric shops. Walmart moved in and opened up in every town where there was a fabric shop, undercutting the prices, putting all of them out of business - until a few years ago when they decided to stop selling fabric. All those customers with nowhere to go now.

Eastney Road will become a street of charity shops. And some of the bigger charity shops have learnt the dirty tricks very well.

I suppose this is the march of progress.

 

http://www.footballcourier.com/news...r-tesco-store-at-fratton-park/full_story.html

So it's official now. I really wish there was more detail on how these plans might benefit Fratton Park, so far there seems to be very little. Are we talking about a few licks of paint or completely rebuilding the north stand?

And for goodness sake, please get rid of that barbed wire on the fence that runs past the north stand. It's ****ing horrendous .