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General questions

The club has revealed its proposals. What happens next?
The first stage is for all the key landowners to agree to work with the club and their development partners to make their land available for the project or at least work co-operatively with them.

The council and other land owners (MoD and Crown Estates) have already agreed to work together. They have selected a land agent to act on their behalf and are awaiting confirmation from the club and their partners to confirm that commission.

The next stage is for the club to begin to prepare a planning application and an environmental statement that deals with the impact of the proposal on the immediate area and the city.

The council will hold discussions with the club and its developers to understand the proposal and consider the issues that need to be addressed.

The club will discuss and refine its plans with organisations whose views on the scheme need to be taken on board.

The club’s consultants will study how the scheme will affect the area and come up with proposals for dealing with those impacts.

Then the club will submit a planning application to the council.

Who will make the final decision on whether it goes ahead?
Elected councillors on the development control committee will decide on the planning application, but it is possible that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, a government minister, could ‘call in’ a scheme of this size and sensitivity for an eventual decision.

What would cause the Secretary of State to make the decision?
The Secretary of State might decide to call in the planning application and make the decision if it was considered contrary to national and local policies covering important issues such as access, shops and environmental impact. This would take the decision out of the hands of local councillors on the development control committee and stop them approving it.

How long will the process take?
At the moment we can’t give an accurate timescale, as the club will decide when it is ready to submit a planning application. Once an application has been submitted and officially registered, the council will aim to make a decision within 13 weeks, or a longer time period to be agreed with the club.

Is the council supporting the plan or not?
The council will support the club in preparing the plan by offering advice and assistance. On the face of it the location for the stadium looks good but the council has not yet seen any details of how issues such as access to the site will be resolved. We will need to see the  proposals and work with the club in flagging up all the issues that a scheme of this size must address.

When will the council decide one way or the other?
It can only decide once the planning application has been submitted and the application has been thoroughly considered.

When’s the earliest the stadium could be built?
We can’t accurately predict this at the moment. However the club’s aspiration is for the stadium to be open in time for the 2011/2012 season.

Will residents be able to have a say?
Of course. There will be extensive consultation carried out by the council once the planning application has been submitted. The club and its development partners will be encouraged to consult all the people and bodies with a stake in the area before finalising their plans.

What about a referendum?
Our decision on the planning application will be made in the normal way and we will consider all views submitted. It is not necessarily the number of representations for or against that will sway the decision. Rather, the important factor is the weight given to the various issues raised.

Can I contact my local councillor about the proposal?
You can, of course, let your local councillor know your views. You can use the link to the right to contact them. But it would not necessarily be appropriate for a councillor to let you know their view, especially if they will be part of the decision-making process.

Will the plan cost council-tax payers anything?
This is not clear at the moment, although a great deal of staff time will be devoted to giving proper consideration to the proposal. Any planning application has to be accompanied by a fee from the applicant, in accordance with a fee structure set by the government.

Why can’t a new stadium be built at Farlington?
There was a previous proposal at Farlington that was dismissed by the Secretary of State. The present site has not been proposed by the council, but by the club. We are responding to the club’s proposals.

Why not another site like the King George V playing fields at Cosham?
Again, it isn’t for the council to propose where the club should have its stadium. The club has proposed a site on Horsea Island and that’s the proposal we’re responding to.

Why can’t the stadium stay at Fratton Park?
Again, this is an issue for the club, not us.

Will I be able to see the planning application?
Once received, any planning application can be seen here on our website and at the Civic Offices ground floor reception desk, 8.30am-5pm from Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am-4pm on Friday.