Villa Park Redevelopment

[chrisw1]

It would be amusing to watch Swaris face in particular as you raise the notion of offering 130% of value for houses with no plan to offset that cost with income, in the hope that within 5 years BCC would authorise a CPO of the remaining 80% of houses that don't accept the offer and the 'market' value paid at the CPO has been set the 130% you have ill advisedly previously agreed. Talk about dim.

[Ads]

It's infrastructure spending, I have sold a portion of my business to the investment vehicle of an $150bn capped company. I intend to spend £120m~ on a new Witton Lane stand. I'm not flinching at paying ~£40,000 as a premium per property to get the land I want 14.5 years faster than the apparent alternative, on its best case, where in house price increases and inflation have nullified any savings I'd have made. Assuming I'm still there.

I'm not hoping for CPO, I'm buying it all, now. And if not, my plan switches, as I'm not waiting 20 years.

You are being spectacularly naive. I'm sorry I called you dim, but the idea is offensively stupid.

[chrisw1]

Btw, setting up a property company to manage a residential portfolio isn't that tricky.  Believe it or not it can also be reasonably profitable.  And maintaining houses to an acceptable habitual standard is not hard and the minimum any landlord should do.

But I agree it's not a short-term answer, but possibly something that could have been done in the background that may have helped at minimal cost.

[Ads]

Btw, setting up a property company to manage a residential portfolio isn't that tricky.  Believe it or not it can also be reasonably profitable.  And maintaining houses to an acceptable habitual standard is not hard and the minimum any landlord should do.

But I agree it's not a short-term answer, but possibly something that could have been done in the background that may have helped at minimal cost.

If only my job wasn't Operations Manager for the biggest Housing Disrepair litigation mob in England and Wales...

I agree about standards by the way. I'd sue the shit out the Villa. But we're a football club, we don't want to be distracted by this "stuff". We don't have to justify ourselves, we act in our interest.

As for it being hard, you're right, it shouldn't be, but read the spotlight on Housing from the Ombudsman or the monthly maladministration records. It's grim out there.

[chrisw1]

But we don't need the stand right now.  We can get to 53k with a new North.

Tbh ADS, I've got a feeling you don't know much about property.

edit - ok I see you do.  Still think you're very naive.  Maybe you don't know much about development?

[Ads]

Haha you're going to need a bigger boat.

[VILLA MOLE]

I am loving the flirting on here !!

[cannock villa]

Thought I'd stumbled across an online Monopoly game here. Pass Witton Station and collect £200.00 and i'll put an hotel on Trinity Road

[Risso]

It would be amusing to watch Swaris face in particular as you raise the notion of offering 130% of value for houses with no plan to offset that cost with income, in the hope that within 5 years BCC would authorise a CPO of the remaining 80% of houses that don't accept the offer and the 'market' value paid at the CPO has been set the 130% you have ill advisedly previously agreed. Talk about dim.

If they wanted to develop the whole site, they'd obviously have to start with high level discussions with the council to get a sense if they had to go down the route of CPOs or not and what the overall strategy would be.

Fo me it would be far easier to develop a new site somewhere else, like the land around the old gas holders as has been suggested a few times. There are just too many built in problems with Villa Park and the land around it. It's all very well being close to a motorway junction and a train station, but that's utterly meaningless if they don't improve access arrangements for people, and they don't.

We need to do something though. We may get away with Heck's short term approach for 2-3 years, but there's a reason lots of other clubs want bigger stadia. Owners and managers can come and go, as do Champions League seasons, but once you've got through a difficult couple of years in building somewhere new, then you've got that much bigger stadium and its income forever. Rebuilding the North and Witton would be my second choice, but you've then still got the problem of the general access and the constraints of the houses on Witton Lane.

At the moment we've got the worst case scenario of paying top whack prices for absolutely dismal facilities, and people aren't going to put up with that for very long.

[Ads]

I think it would be far easier to develop somewhere new as well. That's an opinion I'd hold if I were a director and it's why I'd not be disappointed if my plan failed. Oh well, we tried.

Also Risso, your last paragraph is absolutely correct and critical. They know there's a limited window for them getting away with the current status quo. Hence why the new directors and owners must be looming in the background.

[Drummond]

Stick a slip road on the A38, redevelop Witton Station. Knock Villa Park down and build the megadome, develop the area with shopping, hotel, restaurants and drag it up.

Of course it will cost a fortune, but it's affordable.

[langleylions]

Stop all the feckin about and just buy the land next to alex stadium and get it built ffs .they have already fenced it off and digging already !! 🙄🙄

[London Villan]

This is what I don't understand about our owners. They are ambitious, and imaginative and clearly want the very best for the club - the decision-making about the new North Stand and the categorical statements about not moving are at odds with everything else they have done for Villa.

[aev]

How much space does HS2 need at Washwood Heath?

[PeterWithe]

Yup but I'd imagine the latter is something of a moveable feast, in that they can say they didn't want to move, therefore keeping one section of support content-ish, but they are being forced to.