Urgent - take action by 6 Sept to protect The Valley
CAST is calling on fans to submit email comments to the Council to protect the club’s future at The Valley under the new Local Development Plan - deadline for comments is 6 September.
Please take action urgently as outlined below - this is a numbers game so do send in individual emails by the deadline on Sunday. Include your full name and address and do highlight your address if you live within RBG. This is a once in 10 years opportunity to ensure the Council takes notice.
Royal Borough of Greenwich is currently undertaking a second round of consultation on the new Local Development Plan. Once adopted, this plan will shape planning and development decisions over the coming 10 years or more. CAST, with the support of the club, is submitting a detailed response via planning consultancy 4TY Planning, led by former CAST board member Mark Batchelor. The new plan as proposed provides no protection for The Valley and its curtilage beyond noting it as a “public destination”. This is even weaker than the existing local plan.
CAST recently met with local councillors on the matter and they agreed to give consideration to a policy to protect The Valley as a sporting and cultural asset to the borough. We are proposing the following policy, which has been drafted in consultation with the club:
“The Council will support The Valley as the home stadium of Charlton Athletic Football Club and will support the Club’s long-term provision of a sustainable, fit-for-purpose stadium within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Development at or affecting The Valley should protect and enhance the Club’s long-term future and should not prejudice the improvement, expansion, redevelopment or appropriate reprovision of the Club’s stadium facilities.”
There is a much better chance of this policy being adopted if we can demonstrate widespread support for it.Here is a step by step guide to submitting your representation:
- Deadline: 6th September at 11:59pm
- Email comments to: Local-Plan-Consultation@royalgreenwich.gov.uk
- Email subject: The Valley, Floyd Road, Charlton - Regulation 19 Draft Local Plan Representation
- Points to consider including:
- The Valley has been the Club's home stadium since 1919
- Focal point for community interaction
- Cherished by supporters of CAFC in Greenwich and further afield
- Brings significant economic, cultural and social value to Greenwich
- Concerned that the existing policy protections are being weakened
- Important for the Club and The Valley to be properly acknowledged and protected in the new Local Plan
- Fully endorse the formal representation made by CAST
For a copy of CAST’s full representation please email secretary@castrust.org. It includes local examples of how other councils recognise and protect their football clubs and their stadia, not least our two local rivals.
Now do go and write that email and let’s get the Council to take notice.
Comments
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Bump *edit, terrible time for a typo🤣*
my email has been sent🫡0 -
Vilesammy391 said:Bum6 -
Is it worth cc'ing in local councillors if you live in the borough?1
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Another scaremongering tactic by the trust13
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Done.
Worth grabbing the post from above and putting it in your AI of choice initially and amend. It gave me a good line:"Charlton supporters know from our own history how important the relationship between a football club and its home is. The opportunity to ensure The Valley remains protected for future generations should not be missed."
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Yes good ideaFreshHaddock said:Is it worth cc'ing in local councillors if you live in the borough?0 -
That the club are fully behind (apologies if we’ve been whooshed!)OhMyGodden said:Another scaremongering tactic by the trust4 -
Done, Good tip about AI to change the wording but keep meaning
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Will do 👍0
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Thanks for the heads-up....... done!0
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Sponsored links:
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Done!0
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It might be useful if @castrust could compose a template email that could be copied and used to email the council. I think more people would then be inclined to use the template and make minor adjustments to personal thoughts/details (e.g. length of time they've been a supporter, where they travel from, personal thoughts, etc.).
Just an idea.6 -
email sent UTA1
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They’d have to be mental to start a fight like that.
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The suggested comments can easily be copied and pasted into your own email.CafcWest said:It might be useful if @castrust could compose a template email that could be copied and used to email the council. I think more people would then be inclined to use the template and make minor adjustments to personal thoughts/details (e.g. length of time they've been a supporter, where they travel from, personal thoughts, etc.).
Just an idea.0 -
Done0
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Or just really really hot for that sweet sweet property developer money. </cynical long term borough resident>The Red Robin said:They’d have to be mental to start a fight like that.
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Done0
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Has the old Belgian prick got in the councillor’s pockets.2
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Got a (templated I assume) reply:Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your comments on the Regulation 19 Local Plan. We appreciate the effort taken to review the document and submit your representations. We confirm that your comments have been received and will be carefully considered as part of the ongoing plan preparation process.After this consultation, the Council will review the representations received and submit the Local Plan, supporting documents, and consultation responses for independent examination. The Secretary of State will appoint a Planning Inspector to examine whether the plan has been prepared properly and whether it is sound.Thank you again for helping shape Royal Greenwich into a borough with thriving, inclusive and resilient communities.3
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Sponsored links:
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SameWSS said:Got a (templated I assume) reply:Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your comments on the Regulation 19 Local Plan. We appreciate the effort taken to review the document and submit your representations. We confirm that your comments have been received and will be carefully considered as part of the ongoing plan preparation process.After this consultation, the Council will review the representations received and submit the Local Plan, supporting documents, and consultation responses for independent examination. The Secretary of State will appoint a Planning Inspector to examine whether the plan has been prepared properly and whether it is sound.Thank you again for helping shape Royal Greenwich into a borough with thriving, inclusive and resilient communities.0 -
Email sent , thanks for the heads up @castrust0
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Sent….
Dear Royal Borough of Greenwich,
My dad took me to my first Charlton game in 1996. He passed away last month. This month, I will take my daughter to her first game at The Valley.
Greenwich has changed enormously in the 30 years between those two moments. So has The Valley. But perhaps both have changed less than you might think.
That is because a football club is more than the football played within it.
It brings generations together. It develops talent. It creates jobs and economic activity. It gives people somewhere to belong. It represents southeast London to the rest of the country and, occasionally, it even entertains us.
The Valley has been Charlton Athletic’s home since 1919.
I am therefore deeply concerned that the proposed Local Plan appears to weaken, rather than strengthen, the protection afforded to The Valley.
A Local Plan that will guide development for the next decade or more should explicitly recognise The Valley as a sporting and cultural asset and protect Charlton Athletic’s long-term future at its historic home.
I fully endorse the formal representation submitted by the Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust and strongly support the inclusion of the policy it has proposed to protect The Valley and the Club’s long-term future there.
In 1996, my dad took his son to The Valley. In 2026, I get to take his granddaughter.
I hope that in another 30 years, families across Greenwich and southeast London will still be able to tell the same sort of story.
Please give The Valley and Charlton Athletic the recognition and protection they deserve within the new Local Plan.
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Is that from ChatGPT? Should've asked for a higher word count, and more expletives, as it doesn't really capture the real attitude of fans!Hartleypete said:'Has the old Belgian prick got in the councillor’s pockets.'2 -
Surely the Memorial Garden should be mentioned? My Grandad wanted his ashes at The Valley, not a future housing estate.I’ll send email.5
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Also sent, am a RBG resident so played on that a bit.1
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.0
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I tried the AI idea, but it struck me that it was taking the hyperbole a level too far. I'd love to think the following was really true:
'Charlton Athletic F.C. is widely considered the beating cultural heart of the borough. While sites like Maritime Greenwich and The O2 cater primarily to international tourists, Charlton Athletic represents the local identity, social history, and community cohesion of Greenwich’s actual residents'.
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Weird.OhMyGodden said:Another scaremongering tactic by the trust0 -
Sent mine, got the same reply.0
