GRAYS Athletic Community Football Club have today launched the latest stage of its campaign to secure permanent access to the former Thurrock FC ground at Ship Lane in West Thurrock, with the release of a report highlighting the many community benefits of the proposal.
A copy of the report is attached for your information.
The club are partners in a planning application with Group 1 Automotive Ltd which is seeking to purchase the site adjoining the Thurrock Hotel close to the Dartford Tunnel Roundabout. As part of the deal, Group 1 would gift the redundant football ground to Grays Athletic, as their permanent home. Grays have been homeless since being forced to leave the Recreation Ground in 2010.
Grays Athletic are keen to emphasise the wide-ranging community benefits that would flow from their taking ownership of Ship Lane. As well as running more than 20 teams for male and female players of all ages, the club is committed to ensuring that 50% of the usage of the ground would be open to all sections of the local community. This will help address issues around lack of access to quality, affordable facilities in Thurrock. Ship Lane would also become the base for a host of new projects run by the club around health, fitness and opportunities for disabled people.
For all this to happen and the local community to benefit, Grays Athletic are relying on Thurrock Council planning committee approving the application, with a decision currently expected at a meeting on 13th July.
People can add their support for the Grays Athletic campaign through our online petition which can be found here: ONLINE PETITION
To Michael Casey
This GAFC and Ship Lane issue is only being reported to benefit the football club, time for an opposition view of the PDI plant from a villagers aspect.
GAFC joined forces with the PDI to effectively get a ground for free, great just what football needs and I doubt many people in Aveley are against them having it.
GAFC run a petition which has over 3000 names on it, when the club has a fanbase of around 300-400, with so many people with a football background from far outside the area signing this without the full facts. GAFC have not been fully honest in their aproach, yes they are a community club, they already have a vibrant youth section, so going to Ship Lane will hardly imrove this, offering Ship Lane as a 50% community project for local groups to share, would be hard work for them with a grass pitch (not very well thought out) especially when Aveley FC already has a community facility in reach of Ship Lane, so with most groups already catered for at Parkside, a bit late on GAFC behalf, the thought of having an all weather pitch in Belhus Park would be great but who is going to manage / maintain and secure this facility from wanton damage? We feel money could be better spent in other areas.
Now to the villagers, Ship Lane is already a grid locked road at times of incidents on the A13, M25 and the Bridge, add in the busy times at Lakeside and many times a month traffic is slowed to a standstill, add in the extra traffic moves to and from the PDI, it would become a no go area and reduce Aveley to effectively 2 routes in an out of the village and no direct route unless Ship Lane is running clear to Lakeside. That’s the traffic, then the noise pollution which is already high with the constant drone of the M25 and A13 will increase as will the lessening of air quality which is very low already, then we have the loss of green belt, which may not figure in the ears of GAFC fans, but is an important swathe of wildlife habitat in an already area overpopulated by industry. For me after years of working on projcts such as the M25 laterly with Highways Agency (now Highways England) this project would see this part of Thurrock become a no go area for locals, especially as HGV’s could find themselves in the village if using SAT NAVS, (I know there is a plan for a camera, but that will only monitor not stop these rogue vehicles. Although the EA see no issues, with flooding in the Mardyke Valley this very prevelent, this area could also become an issue, (how long is a bit of string).
So seeing it from the eyes and minds of villagers this would bring extreme pain to us, especially as there are plans for a further 6 DC’s opposite PDI with access from what will a newly constructed roundabout in Ship Lane, making Ship Lane a definite no go area for locals.
There are also concerns for locals as evidence of Japanese Knot Weed on the site, close to the pylon, this itself needs special consideration at planning and should be eradicated before plannig consents are given.
Again to reiterate the villagers have no opposition to GAFC getting the ground, unlike many of the social media comments that are being aimed at the villagers and football club from GAFC fans, over their years as nomads GAFC have always turned on their landlords, just as they have now with Aveley, the same occurred at East Thurrock. so if they get the ground limit its use to just GAFC football, we don’t need an unkempt, unsupervised facility in Belhus Park as Aveley FC already have this covered.
Ultimately the villagers want to be able to continue our lives without the stress of Ship Lane industry.
Fred Taylor
Concerned Villager
Absolutely true Mr Taylor The continued lies coming from GAFC are truly remarkable………..NO PDI CENTRE.