First new photo emerges of Maidenhead United’s newly proposed stadium

The first new photo emerges of Maidenhead United’s newly proposed stadium in the area of Braywick Park, just under a mile away from York Road.

The Magpies’ CEO Jon Adams talked with councillors on the plans at the Maidenhead Town Forum earlier this week, where he said a move to a new community ground was the ‘most sensible and realistic’ option for the club.

It’s expected that Maidenhead United, who currently sit 17th in the National League after seven games played – will leave its current York Road home, where they have been based since 1871 – making it the oldest continually used football ground in the world.

Adams told members the current ground is ‘very old’ and needs ‘significant capital investment’, saying a move to the northern part of Braywick Park would help the club address its long-term challenges and ‘establish financial independence’.

He added that additional facilities would meet the needs of the Magpies’ growing grassroots football and community wellbeing programmes.

The new stadium, set to have a capacity of around 5,200, would improve existing sporting facilities at Braywick Park, he said, while remaining within reach of the town centre.

As per Maidenhead Advertiser, planning application is expected for the ground in November or December, with the club undergoing an extensive consultation period with the club’s supporters and the wider public.

“We are not just a football club. We are more than that; we see ourselves as a community resource that is growing and needs to continue to grow,” Mr Adams said.

“I do not want to dismiss the sadness of leaving York Road but the supporters recognise the challenges that we face.

“[This is] the most sensible and only realistic option available to us. This is an ambitious project that will help us to meet the needs of the community.

“It will deliver a fantastic sports stadium that the town can be really proud of.”

The plans incorporate the main stadium – which would have a 3G surface – alongside another smaller pitch surrounded by an athletics track.

Mr Adams adds he wants  as many trees as possible and keep a ‘park feel’ once the ground is built, but there are some concerns raised over the impact the stadium will have on its surroundings.

The club’s plans have also been met with resistance from members of Maidenhead Rugby Club, which already plays its home games at Braywick Park.

Chairman Steve Bough has been a vocal opponent of the proposals, and told the Advertiser last year that the club believes ‘Braywick Park is not a suitable location for this type of sports/business complex’.

Adams however said in the meeting that the football club ‘continues to be in positive dialogue’ with the rugby club.

“I can’t sweep under the carpet that all members [of the rugby club] are for the proposal at this stage,” Mr Adams said.

“We are looking to engage with them and make sure we listen to their concerns.”

Maidenhead United have offered the rugby club use of its pitch for its junior teams, but there are issues from the rugby camp over whether youngsters should be playing on 3G and not grass.

“We want to work with them and see if we can come up with a solution,” Mr Adams added.

“They see Braywick as something which is the rugby club’s, [but] we don’t want to steamroll over them.”

Construction of the new stadium would take ‘just over a year’, with an agreement already in place with a developer for the sale of York Road.

After the meeting, Adams told the Advertiser that he wanted the new ground to be ‘as sensitive as possible’ to its green surroundings and added that feedback so far had been ‘generally positive’.

He said that the facilities like the athletics track would be ‘managed’, with details being worked on how people can access them, such as via bookings.

Adams claims the benefits of Braywick Park benefits would be the good transport links in response to some concerns that the new ground would be too far out of town.

CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE

Peter Griffin would like to issue the following update to supporters…
It is fantastic to have another season up and running and great to see supporters at York Road once again. It is unbelievable to think this is our sixth season in the National League, we continue to punch above our weight in a league that becomes more competitive every season.

There is no doubt in my mind of the importance of the ground move to secure the long-term future of the club and our extensive community programmes. It was fantastic to discuss our plans for the new stadium with supporters at the beginning of the summer. The feedback we received from these sessions was incredibly useful.

Over the summer we have been working hard with our consultant team and the local planning authority to review and develop the technical aspects of the scheme. We now expect to be ready to submit the formal planning application for the project by the end of the year.

We will be undertaking further consultation events with supporters in early October, which will be followed by a wider programme of public consultation events and activities.

In the meantime, to protect the Club’s interests at York Road, we have recently submitted a further planning application so that we can continue to meet play-off requirements of the National League and EFL. This is in effect a request to renew the planning permission for improvements at York Road granted in 2019, which expired earlier this year.

We look forward to meeting with many of you again when we share the development plans at the upcoming consultation events. We remain committed to securing the long-term success and impact of our great football club.

Peter Griffin
Chairman