Rovers CEO says there have been ‘frustrations’ with South Stand

The CEO of Bristol Rovers says that the club is “doing all we can to conclude things as quickly as possible” in regards to the construction of the new South Stand at the Memorial Stadium.

Building work is continuing on the new stand despite no planning permission yet being granted by the city council.

Tom Gorringe has admitted that there “have been some areas in which we could have done better” including communicating with local residents sooner.

Writing in Saturday’s matchday programme, Gorringe also pointed the finger at the media for “a lot of misinformation”, saying that there have been “numerous articles written, none of which have ever had any of the facts from us, many projected a misinformed and one-sided version of events”.

Bristol24/7 has attempted to contact Gorringe but has so far received no reply.

The new South Stand continues to take shape at the Memorial Stadium despite no planning permission – photo: Martin Booth

This is what Gorringe wrote about the South Stand in full: “Off the pitch, on top of the due diligence, we embarked on an ambitious plan to improve the facilities at the stadium.

“The project has been subject to a number of delays from the start and, although I don’t think it is appropriate to go into detail of these at this stage whilst the situation is on-going, I will answer some of the core points that I am aware have been raised in recent weeks.

“I think the first thing to say is that there has been, and continues to be, a lot of misinformation in the press about the situation.

“There have been numerous articles written, none of which have ever had any of the facts from us, many projected a misinformed and one-sided version of events.

“It still remains our view that keeping our counsel on the frustrations that we have faced during the process is the best thing at this time.

“The previous stands were removed following the final league game of the season. This allowed the team access to the site to undertake some ground tests required to finalise the plans.

“Furthermore, at this time, additional assessments on the drainage systems and plans were taking place.

“In doing this preparatory work, a number of holes were dug which has meant that the previous stand could not be reinstated.

“Also, at this time, our pitch maintenance team undertook a large renovation of the pitch which accounted for some of the disruption reported at that time.

“In order to comply with the planning request we have commissioned a number of external reports which have assessed items such as the impact of light, acoustic and travel of the new development, all of which have returned nominal adverse findings for local residents

“The change in capacity only stands to bring the club back in line to pre-Covid capacity figures as opposed to increasing the capacity to new levels.

“The improvement to toilets, disabled facilities and the fact that it will be an enclosed space should all benefit our supporters and local residents alike.

“However, there have been some areas in which we could have done better.

“Our communication with the residents is something that we could have started earlier and in more detail to ensure that there was a wider awareness of what is happening and when.

“The process for the stand remains ongoing and although the timelines for a conclusion remains largely out of our hands, we are doing all we can to conclude things as quickly as possible.

“The above issues caused a number of changes for the first home game of the season. This has also led to disruption for a number of supporters who have purchased season tickets in the affected areas.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone affected for their cooperation and understanding, as well as our team for dealing with all of the seat moves and reallocations ahead of time to minimise the impact for supporters.”

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• Construction appears to be taking place at Memorial Stadium despite no planning permission
  
• ‘The Green Party’s approach to City and Rovers’ plans raises concerns for the future’
• ‘Labour are using Bristol Rovers’ new stand as a political football’
• New stand at Memorial Stadium will not be ready for start of new season
  
• Hussain AlSaeed becomes new co-owner of Bristol Rovers

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