Northumbria Police have NUFC fan zone worries
Police have voiced concerns over plans to build a Newcastle United fan zone outside St James’ Park.
Plans for the Stack development in Strawberry Place were granted approval by Newcastle City Council last month, but the shipping container village has yet to clear another crucial hurdle.
A hearing to decide whether to grant a licence for the major new venue to operate is now pencilled in for next week – with the football club having run into opposition from Northumbria Police, local councillors, and civic centre licensing officials over the proposal.
The fan zone would be similar to the now-dismantled Stack on Pilgrim Street, made up of a collection of bars and street food vendors arranged over two floors with a large seating area and stage in the centre.
But documents lodged with the council ahead of next Tuesday’s hearing reveal police worries about opening a major drinking venue, with a reported capacity of 3,000, right outside the football ground.
The venue, which is now earmarked for a spring 2024 opening, would not be limited to NUFC matchdays and bosses have asked for a licence to sell alcohol every day of the week from 10am to midnight.
Superintendent Jamie Pitt wrote: “The proposed licensed premises will allow for a concentration of a significant number of patrons to consume alcohol and in an area that is in the immediate vicinity of St James’ Park… If the application is granted the operation of the venue is likely to have an impact on the dynamic of the Night Time Economy (NTE) and the movement or migration of patrons across the city centre during NTE hours and on match days.
“With this in mind, the police would expect to see policies and procedures devised by the Applicant and specifically tailored to the St James’ Stack operation. Such policies and procedures should be served with the premises licence application and/or made available to the Responsible Authorities prior to the licensing hearing and should seek to address the issues of vulnerability in the NTE and crowd management/dispersal of patrons from the St James’ STACK premises and identify the steps the applicant will take to manage crowds and dispersal during any high risk occasions or events that are identified by Northumbria Police.
“The police consider that to grant the application for a premises licence will undermine the licensing objective of the prevention of crime and disorder.”
Jonathan Bryce, who heads the city’s licensing authority, agreed that the Stack proposals “adds to sensitivities” around St James’ Park and called for more detail on access arrangements for emergency services and for the operators to “show due regard to possible terrorist or other such risks likely to be associated with the location and size of this premises”.
City centre Labour councillors Shumel Rahman and Jane Byrne have also lodged objections against the scheme.
Coun Rahman said he supported the principle of a fan park but had concerns about the impact of noise on surrounding residents, with Coun Byrne adding that there had been “no consideration given by the applicant to limiting noise, which will have a significant detrimental impact on local residents”.
The council’s environmental health department has said it is satisfied that noise from the venue can be limited using a “state-of-the-art sound system” that would prevent nuisance.
NUFC declined to comment on Wednesday, but had previously said after its planning application was granted that the fan zone would create 150 jobs and “create a host of economic and employment opportunities for the city centre, attracting local businesses as both vendors and suppliers, and stimulating additional footfall for neighbouring businesses and services”.
They added: “The fan zone will complement recent development projects around the Strawberry Place site, which sits in the shadow of the stadium’s Gallowgate End.
“The land, which was recently acquired by the club, was previously a car park and was most recently used to accommodate materials for nearby construction projects.”