Jemfy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2015
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- AFC Rushden & Diamonds
Normally the topic of Nene Park rears it's head on this forum a few times a season, but now there has been some news on the old R&DFC stadium.
The stadium and complex is owned by the former Rushden & Diamonds owner Keith Cousins, whose role in the downfall of the old club has been previously well documented. For those unaware, I'm sure you can get good results by googling it, but the tl;dr is: took over from fans for free, ran the club for a few years, kept the ground and shifted the club on to a new owner, club went bust in a matter of months under this hand chosen new owner who has previous with Cousins.
Recently there was an application for planning permission for the site, for a retail complex. This planning permission has been withdrawn, however it is expected to be re-submitted in the future. There has recently been a large retail complex given the go-ahead (called "Rushden Lakes"), so objectively it would be less likely to gain such permission anyway.
Local Labour candidate has started this petition to get Nene Park listed as a community asset. This means that it would not be able to be demolished. He also claims that if the stadium were owned and run by a not-for-profit community trust entity that it could be a feasible project to allow use of the facilities for far more than football.
I'll share the petition, because at least if nothing else, getting the site listed as such is a massive two fingers up to Mr Cousins, a predictably popular figure among the AFCR&D support. No conversation has been had at this point about any feasibility of AFCR&D ever using Nene Park. This is not what the petition is about, though the issues are obviously linked. Listing the site does not remove it from the hands of Mr Cousins, but it does however devalue the land significantly in terms of potential future developments.
https://www.change.org/p/east-northamptonshire-council-keep-nene-park-for-sporting-facilities
tl;dr: Please sign to stick two fingers up to a man who shafted a club for private gain.
The stadium and complex is owned by the former Rushden & Diamonds owner Keith Cousins, whose role in the downfall of the old club has been previously well documented. For those unaware, I'm sure you can get good results by googling it, but the tl;dr is: took over from fans for free, ran the club for a few years, kept the ground and shifted the club on to a new owner, club went bust in a matter of months under this hand chosen new owner who has previous with Cousins.
Recently there was an application for planning permission for the site, for a retail complex. This planning permission has been withdrawn, however it is expected to be re-submitted in the future. There has recently been a large retail complex given the go-ahead (called "Rushden Lakes"), so objectively it would be less likely to gain such permission anyway.
Local Labour candidate has started this petition to get Nene Park listed as a community asset. This means that it would not be able to be demolished. He also claims that if the stadium were owned and run by a not-for-profit community trust entity that it could be a feasible project to allow use of the facilities for far more than football.
I'll share the petition, because at least if nothing else, getting the site listed as such is a massive two fingers up to Mr Cousins, a predictably popular figure among the AFCR&D support. No conversation has been had at this point about any feasibility of AFCR&D ever using Nene Park. This is not what the petition is about, though the issues are obviously linked. Listing the site does not remove it from the hands of Mr Cousins, but it does however devalue the land significantly in terms of potential future developments.
https://www.change.org/p/east-northamptonshire-council-keep-nene-park-for-sporting-facilities
tl;dr: Please sign to stick two fingers up to a man who shafted a club for private gain.
