Drogheda's plan ended

ANY LINGERING hopes that Drogheda United might successfully revive their plans to move to a new 10,000-seat stadium on the edge of the town were killed off yesterday when An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the development.

The stadium was to be part of a larger scheme that included retail units, a sports centre and a service station while the developer who was providing the necessary funding was also hoping to build a large number of homes on an adjacent site.

The plans for the housing element were hit by the refusal of councillors to rezone the required land late last year while the NRA objected to the proposed development at Bryanstown, just south of Drogheda, on the basis that it believed it might interfere with plans for the Dublin Outer Orbital Route.

Although other grounds were also cited, the NRA’s concerns seem to have been a significant consideration for the An Bord Pleanála as it considered its decision over the last few weeks. So, after a succession of other setbacks since the proposals were originally launched about five years ago, yesterday’s announcement means that the club will be staying on at United Park for the foreseeable future.

“It’s a huge disappointment but not hugely surprising,” said club spokesman Terry Collins last night. “If it had gone our way we might still have been able to build a new home although probably not on the grand scale we had originally planned.

“Up until today that did still seem to be a possibility but I think it’s gone now which is a terrible blow for everybody involved in the club.”

It is some small consolation that plans to make improvements to United Park, so as to bring it up to Premier Division standards, seem set to go ahead. The FAI, which owns the ground, have made plans to install more than 1,000 seats and with the council said to be supportive of the proposals, work could start on installing them within a matter of weeks.

There are major doubts about whether any substantial redevelopment of the ground is really viable, but Collins admits that the club is not really in a position to seriously pursue alternatives anymore anyway.

“It’s not something that’s on our radar,” he says. “The main priority at this stage is just to keep the club on the road.”

Club officials have had to work hard to make ends meet since United narrowly avoided going under at the start of the year.

The club successfully came through examinership after striking deals with its creditors, but the severe budget cuts that followed have left new manager Alan Mathews with a very thin squad by top-flight standards and results to date – three draws and six defeats from nine games – have been disappointing.

“We’re doing a lot of things right on the pitch,” insists Mathews, who has had a string of injury problems to contend with.

“And when we have everyone fit I’d hope that we can convert more of our opportunities. I think then we’ll begin to turn the draws into wins.”