Everton FC told: Cut match traffic or lose 10,000 seats

Jan 8 2009 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERTON FC could see its stadium capacity in Kirkby slashed by 10,000 seats if it fails to hit transport targets.

A planning inquiry, now into its fifth week, heard that the club has vowed to get 45% of all its fans out of their cars within three seasons if the new stadium is approved. At present, 78% of fans travel by private car or taxi.

It has also promised to meet a catalogue of transport conditions in its Travel Plan for the £400m joint plan with Tesco.

Everton and Tesco’s travel expert Joe Ellis said: “We didn’t want to just replace what happens in Goodison at present, we want to bring in a sustainable transport solution.”

He told the inspector that a legally binding Section 106 planning agreement between the club and Knowsley Council had set up a unique penalty system.

Mr Ellis explained: “If Everton doesn’t abide by requirements of its travel plan or get more people to use public transport, the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 40,000.”

He outlined a raft of measures the developers will have to adopt, including: “Significant enhancements to the railway station. Substantial new provision of coach and bus services on match days, enhancements to highway safety and capacity, and a major investment in traffic management for the motorways and local roads. In the case of the stadium, there will be a large CO² saving per seat at the new Kirkby stadium relative to Goodison Park.

He concluded: “The proposals, which include new transport infrastructure and additional public transport capacity, greatly enhances the choice of sustainable transport modes for residents and visitors to the town.”

Much of the opposition to the stadium and superstore focuses on Everton’s transport plans.

Groups such as Keep Everton In Our City and Kirkby Residents Action Group have claimed them to be unworkable.

But the “carrot and stick” approach, Mr Ellis explained, demonstrated how committed the developers were to setting up a workable transport solution.

He said: “The council is looking for a big stick to enforce the shift (from cars to public transport) but they’ve agreed a time lag which makes it pragmatic.”

If the club didn’t believe its measures were based on good sense and were not workable, it would not risk staking a fifth of its gate receipts on it, he added.

“If they didn’t (meet these conditions), you’d have to ask why bother moving in the first place?”

His views reflected Everton chief executive Robert Elstone’s evidence at the inquiry before Christmas. He said that, without a billionaire benefactor, the only way the club could survive in the Premier League was by building a 50,000 – 60,000 seater stadium.