To get such a flat refusal was remarkable, admits Cray Wanderers assistant Joe Francis

CRAY WANDERERS’ assistant manager Joe Francis insists the club NEEDS some HELP after Bromley Council rejected chairman Gary Hillman’s proposals to build a new stadium in St Paul’s Cray.


Mr Hillman, who has been chairman since 1994, proposed a 5,153 capacity £18m stadium at Sandy Lane, which would have met Football League requirements.

Facilities would have included changing rooms, offices, club shops, food and bar facilities, conference/function rooms, a fitness centre including a 20metre swimming pool and multi-use arena, crèche, outdoor all weather full-size football pitch, a 115 bedroom hotel including restaurant and  182 residential dwellings.

Officials and players of The Second Oldest Football Club in the World attended council’s offices last night to hear the dreadful news.

Cray Wanderers, who play in the Ryman Premier League, have played at Bromley’s Hayes Lane ground since 1998, but their lease runs out in a couple of years’ time and the club face an uncertain future following last night’s decision.

Documents obtained via the Council website has confirmed that the club looked into playing at Crockenhill’s Wested Meadow Ground and Green Court Road Sports Ground in Crockenhill, where Kent Invicta League clubs Eltham Palace and Orpington currently rent out to play their home games, but facilities do not meet the criteria needed to play at the Wands’ current level.

Francis was bitterly disappointed after Mr Hillman’s plans were unanimously rejected by Bromley Councillors.

Francis said: “Well, the whole squad was there last night in the public gallery and we listened to the presentation given by Gary (Hillman), which was superb.  Everybody knows about the proposal and to get the rejection as comprehensive as it was really disappointing, really disappointing.

“I just wish that the system of planning and how you go about proposing a development like this could be more collaborative so the council could help us.

“It amazes me that our chairman has had to dig deep and spend a lot of money and he reaches this point and to get such a flat refusal was remarkable!

“I don’t want to get too political but whenever there was a time to support a sporting imitative such as this you would have assumed on the back of the summer that we’ve had (the London Olympic and Paralympic Games) sport has changed people’s lives and been such an inspiration nationally for us that all projects like this would be better received.

“It was not so much disappointed with the decision, but we NEED some HELP.  Our club NEEDS some HELP from the council and that’s what was so disappointing last night.

“It was just the criticisms of the project.  Well ok, alright, if it’s not the best fit at the moment what can we do to make it a best fit?

“We’re talking about a club that – and it was mentioned last night – that does a lot in the community, has been on an upward spiral for the last ten years, plays a  great brand of football and it NEEDS to go back home.

“It NEEDS to go back home.  It NEEDS to go back to the Cray area so the Cray area has the representative football team that it can be proud of so HELP US, HELP US!

“Find us a site and work with Gary in a partnership.  This is a guy willing to spend his own money to create a sporting club, an environment that changes peoples’ lives and if ever we needed it we NEED it NOW!

“That’s what disappointed me was there was nothing coming back from the council delegates there.  One of them even got our name wrong, called us Cray Valley, which smacks to me that one of the councillors sitting there, he hasn’t even done his homework!  He doesn’t even know what we’re about or what League we play in!  So do your homework! I found that disrespectful!

“If we all had the opportunity to debate it that would have been one of the questions that I would have put.

“You don’t even know who we are or what League we play in!  Well, we’re playing three League’s outside the Football League for your information Mister and you should know that when you’re making a decision about the club’s future!”

Last night’s decision by Bromley Council contradicts the comment made by its leader Stephen Carr earlier in the month.

The council is supporting Bromley Football Club’s £657,000 scheme to install astroturf training pitches at Hayes Lane, following the granting of planning permission three years ago, which will build on the provision of sport in the borough when completed by the end of this year.

Contractors are working at Hayes Lane to provide a new 11-a-side pitch, a new 7-a-side pitch and two new 5-aside pitches, complete with high-tech astroturf and floodlights.

Mr Carr said on the Council’s website: “PROVIDING MORE RECREATIONAL OPTIONS IS IMPORTANT and this (Bromley FC) will be a great place for amateur teams to train and for young people to get interested in sport right in the heart of the borough.

“WE ARE ALWAYS KEEN TO SUPPORT HEALTHY AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLES AND FOOTBALL IS A GREAT WAY TO KEEP FIT AND HAVE FUN IN YOUR SPARE TIME.”

Really, Mr Carr?  Can you really stand by those comments following last night’s decision?! 

Meanwhile, back on the pitch, Cray Wanderers’ management team of Ian Jenkins, Paul Blade and Francis will pick up their troops for tomorrow’s vital FA Cup Second Qualifying Round clash against Thamesmead Town, a side bidding to reach the Third Qualifying Round for the first time in their history tomorrow.

“Yes, looking forward to the game. The FA Cup is a special competition,” said Francis.

“We’re expecting a really tough game. There’s lots of past allegiances and past battles that we’ve had with Thamesmead going back to our Kent League days.

“We’re really looking forward to the game, but we’re expecting a tough game.”

Cray Wanderers go into the game sitting in fourteenth-place in the Ryman Premier League table, while Keith McMahon’s side are in seventeenth-place in the division below.

When asked how his side will come out victors against their Ryman League Division One North opponents, Francis replied, “We’ve got to impose ourselves. We have to be disciplined as we were last week without the ball. I thought we were superb last week (in our 2-2 draw away to Lewes). I thought we defended brilliantly.

“We’ve just got to be a little bit better with care and attention in possession and look to our creative players to provide the spark.

Both sides will lock horns again in seven days’ time – at Thamesmead’s Bayliss Avenue ground – in the FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round.

Francis added: “We’re just looking at tomorrow. I know it’s the oldest cliché and the most boring comment in the world, but we’re taking one game as it comes.

“We know their strengths. We’ve had them watched. They’ve got some good players and they’ll obviously look at tomorrow’s game as an opportunity to get a scalp.”

Cray Wanderers have never featured in the FA Cup First Round and while Thamesmead Town haven’t got further than this round there is plenty to play for at Hayes Lane tomorrow.

“Their motivation is obvious and we’ve got to match that,” said Francis.

“We’ve got to be at it tomorrow. We’ve got to be focused and motivated ourselves and also manage the game whatever occurs in that 90 minutes.

“We’ve got enough experience and we’ve got enough quality to put together a good performance. I think we’re due a good performance and a positive result because we haven’t played badly this season, we just need to put it all together and hopefully tomorrow the players can do that.”

Visit Cray Wanderers’ website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/craywands

Cray Wanderers  v  Thamesmead Town
The FA Cup with Budweiser Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 22^nd September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF