Indulge me, my idea of what we might end up with.

It is but that's not the problem.

As someone who trust me has seen many plans, all rejected by WMDC for the western terrace, access is the issue, it has none. Trying to do anything other than terracing to the western terrace is an utter waste of time and money. It's best left for the away fans, just smarter with a proper roof. The potential is the south stand, which certainly does have a far bigger footprint than you think and does have access and is pretty much a blank canvas if you knock the flats down.

What plans were these? can’t remember anything submitted since the west stand was knocked down. What do you mean by access? Been to many stadium football and rugby that seem to have less access than the west side of Belle Vue.

Up the Trin

Look good think we’d all be happy with that. I reckon 1st stage is East, North lights and pitch as planned. Then South and West would be Salford City FC style stands.

Up the Trin

I'm sure Snowie will know from his personal involvement a few years ago, but I seem to recall that the north terracing consisted of the BISON concrete pre-cast hollow floor slabs that consisted of about 25mm top and bottom thickness of concrete with a hollow core of approx. 100mm. Over the years of supporting the crowds the top thickness used to crack and subside exposing the void. Subsequently the voids were filled with poured concrete patching which over time tended to create an uneven surface,
I don't recall a wholesale replacement of the north terracing in my time of attending BV.

It may be me but from the sketch drawings i see the car park is set/done ??, But cannot see it as an item in the list to Do ??
is the gym & training facilities for the players as per type we need for winter close season training ( which we borrow now) in the 2nd phase, we also need to have included a physio - surgery room for the club doctor & his staff to tend injuries etc, etc, but I see no mention in the listings, may be this can be in the questions posed ?

You won’t have done, they were in a draw at the club when I saw them in 2005. There were three versions dating from the late 80’s, up until the millennium, the latter were done as part of our SL application. I actually had to sign a confidentiality agreement to see them but I’m sure nobody cares now. They were never made public because they were never going to happen.

Anyway all were rejected. The main reasons were as follows.

1. Not enough access for emergency vehicles.

2. Poor general access and no parking.

3. Due to lack of space for facilities an unacceptable financial return for the outlay.

Even then the east and south stands were the obvious contenders for upgrading.

We all fondly remember the old west stand but let’s be honest it was ridiculously cramped underneath even by the standards of the day. It’s only suitable as a terrace unfortunately. Don’t see a problem with that myself.

As a matter of interest which ground have a stand that only has a narrow path behind two thirds of it. The only one I can think of is Cas which like BV is a relic. Like BV that terrace was built long before modern stadia regulations. I don’t make the rules, what is certain is that you can’t replace the west terrace like for like, ithe new structure would have to meet modern criteria.

This states that there must be unimpeded access for emergency vehicles including a fire tender. So it’s a minimum one way road. Added to that you’d need a pedestrian walkway as well. That starts to eat away a lot of space.

Are retail outlets, fast food premises etc still included in the scheme?

Western Terrace would be best levelled and temporary stands put in for away fans, if not permanent, but open terracing.

One is that the TV gantry needs to be at that side and a roof would obscure it's views.

The roof wouldn’t obscure the view, that’s a bit of a myth. The problem with the Glover roof is that it’s not really high enough, that was the issue along with the extra cost for the full length that we couldn’t affords. If you look at Cas it’s similar but a bit higher and they get away with it and so could we.
Sky advised that it wasn’t ideal but they didn’t stop us, they are not that powerful, handy excuse in truth.

That said it’s a summer game and with cover for 2500 in the new stand and an increase to 3,500 in the north stand that’s adequate cover for the few rainy games. So I don’t think a roof over the west terrace is vital.

yes we did some pepper testing first with a long thin drill bit all around areas that was in need of attention to decide what we was dealing with and had no concerns with the depth on the west stand bar for the few near the toilet area in the corner, like vasty said it was fairly new compared to the rest,
the north stand was totally different matter as it went through in seconds meaning the anchoring bolts would of had nothing to adhere to, one or two just had the drill bit fell through once it had penetated the concrete the only option was to dig every post out as the east stand, had to laugh when TRB said it was no problem so I repied he could crack on with it then

I did at one time find some information with photos about when the north stand was developed, all of the concrete believe or not was laid by volunteers by hand now that is moving mountains, not sure but I think its in the dreadnought book

Didn’t realise it went to planning and WMDC rejected them, should be in the public domain if that’s the case. Remember early 2000s talk of us buying the old wilderspoon main stand for the west side. Had to go through an alley underneath some terrace houses away end at Luton, no chance of getting emergency vehicles through there.

Up the Trin

The gantry can't be lowered - it's already "flat", and permission couldn't be achieved for a roof of a height that would go above the gantry.

A roof at the permissible height would obscure the gantry sight lines.

This was covered in a fan's forum at BV, in the none too distant past.

It's not a myth; it's physics and planning permissions.

Never got to the public domain, as they never got as far as seeking permission.

The council planning officers advised they would never pass, so that was the end of those ideas.

Well it got people speculating . It is a damn mess and not expecting anything stupendous . Few tiers of safe terracing and a basic roof to to host away support.