Member Article

First look at stadium redevelopment

Major plans to redevelop Wakefield Trinity Rugby Club stadium, including the delivery of a new stand, a new pitch and upgraded floodlights, have been submitted to Wakefield Council.

The planning application for the project has been prepared by Pegasus Group on behalf of Spirit of 1873 Ltd - who own the ground - and also includes new meeting rooms, offices, a café and community use fitness facilities.

Wakefield Trinity, who compete in the English Super League, bought the freehold of the Mobile Rocket Stadium, Belle Vue, in March last year.

The application proposes the replacement of the existing east stand with a 2 storey stand which, as well as providing 2,562 seats, will include meeting rooms, offices, a café and fitness facilities for community use.

The proposals also include improvements to the car park, the provision of fan zones, the installation of an all-weather 4G pitch and an upgrade to the existing floodlights to the latest LED technology.

Chris Calvert, from Pegasus Group, said: “The proposed development will generate significant socio-economic benefits during both the construction and operational phases of the scheme. During the build phase of the development, it will directly support temporary construction jobs on-site, and indirectly support jobs in the wider construction supply chain.

“However, it is during the operational phase of the development proposal that the long-term socio-economic benefits arising from the scheme will be seen in the local the community. All sport, in this case at the elite level, has a significant role in retaining a sense of place and identity. Wakefield Trinity continues to be an incredibly important part of the community and its history and the proposed development shall deepens that sense of place and identity further.

“Importantly, it promotes well-being, both physical as well as mental health and these proposals will bring about the ability for increased participation in physical activity, either by inspiring some to become more active having followed elite sport, or to simply to come and use the propose facilities that are proposed.”

The benefits generated by the scheme include: • An estimated 100 on-site jobs supported during the construction phase, with a further 166 supported in the wider supply chain.
• An estimated contribution to economic output (gross value added) of £14milion by the construction phase. • Safeguarding 12 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs on-site, with an additional 2 permanent FTEs likely to be created once the Proposed Development is built and operational. • Providing new facilities, including a sports pitch and gym, that can be accessed by local residents. A total of 147,508 additional annual community use visits are forecast, of which 138,568 are estimated to be involved in physical activity. Increasing physical participation in Wakefield is a major issue, with inactivity costing the District an estimated £6.4million per annum.

Pegasus Group has more than 330 skilled and experienced staff operating from 16 offices across the UK and Ireland and services span the entire project process from planning through to design and delivery, specialising in planning, design, environment, economics and heritage.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Taylor .