The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has been dealt a blow with its plans to expand Twickenham Stadium after local residents criticised the proposals.
The project, expected to cost £54m (€64.4m/$68m), would see the east stand at the 82,000-capacity national stadium extended to include additional corporate hospitality facilities including bars, restaurants and conference areas in order to replace facilities currently located off-site.
However, according to the Evening Standard newspaper, people living close to the venue have hit out at the plans, fearing more “repulsive” rugby fans will cause disruption in the local area.
Tony Robinson, from the Butterfield Close Residents’ Association, said in a letter to Richmond Council that locals already have to put with fans’ anti-social behaviour, citing issues such as binge-drinking, verbal abuse and parking in a residents’ car park.
“The car park is filled with unauthorised vehicles which choose to park in our privately-owned parking spaces and, worse still, our private grounds are consistently used as a public toilet area,” Robinson said.
Robinson also said rugby fans, concert goers and gym users often subjected residents to “anti-social and sometimes threatening behaviour”, adding that such incidents were mostly ignored by stewards and the RFU.
An RFU spokesman said a planning application has been submitted Richmond Council, with a planning meeting scheduled for later this week. Should the project gain approval, the extended stand could be open by autumn 2018.
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