James Whatman Way
Encyclopedia
James Whatman Way is the project name for the new stadium of Maidstone United, an English football team who currently play their home games at Bourne Park, Sittingbourne
. Construction of the stadium began in September 2011 and is expected to be built by August 2012.
A major downside of the 3G pitch is that so far the club has only gained permission to use the pitch in the Isthmian League
and the FA Trophy
. The club have yet to receive permission to use the pitch for matches in the FA Cup
and Football Conference
(Conference National
/ North
& South
). Maidstone would be able to play FA Cup
matches at a neutral venue or the home ground of their opponents but promotion to the Football Conference
would not be possible until permission is granted from the league or the 3G turf is replaced with grass.
North Stand: The North end will provide covered terracing for 500 spectators, and can be reserved for away supporters when segregation is required.
East Stand: The Main stand will be on the Eastern side of the ground and will include 300 spectator seats, six wheelchair bays with accompanying seats for carers, eight media seats, two corporate/sponsor boxes and a directors box. The stand will be situated 1.5 metres above pitch level.
South Stand: The South end of the ground will provide a covered terrace for 250 supporters as well as being where the changing rooms, medical room and storage room will be installed. There will be an extendible tunnel and movable barriers for players and officials to make their way to and from the pitch.
Floodlights cannot be installed on one side of the ground due to the narrow nature of the site and restrictions from the authorities. However floodlights will be installed that reach the level needed at the Football League's League One
and Two
.
Division 4 with their home games taking place where the original clubs
old training pitch had been situated at London Road, near Allington
. The club worked their way through the Kent County League
and were promoted to the Kent League
Premier Division in 2001. However the current ground was nowhere near Kent League
standards - so the club elected to groundshare with Sittingbourne
while they tried to engineer a move to their preferred site for a new stadium in Maidstone
at James Whatman Way. Numerous legal disputes and even a colony of Great Crested Newts at Whatman Way delayed the clubs attempts to get permission to build the ground, however in 2004 the club finally made its first steps towards returning to their home town when an application for planning permission to build a stadium at James Whatman Way was unanimously accepted.
However, no real work could begin until the lease to acquire the ground from its owners the Ministry of Defence
was signed. After yet more red tape was surpassed the lease was finally signed in March 2006. Despite Maidstone now having the green light to start construction, there were questions over the clubs ability to finance the stadium and almost a year passed before some preliminary work took place in January 2007. Unfortunately no significant inroads were made and soon the site became overgrown and disused, with no construction taking place . In the summer of 2008, with no movement at Whatman Way since the initial work and Maidstone suffering financial problems, it was decided the club were unable to fund the ground themselves and a bid was placed for a £1.2 million grant from the Football Foundation to build the stadium. However the bid was turned down. This came as a massive blow, and after this the new stadium took a back seat as all funds were focussed on keeping the club afloat.
A change of club ownership in October 2010 saw a renewed attempt to move to the stadium. A new company named Maidstone United Ground Ltd was formed to deal solely with stadium matters, and in January 2011 the club announced its plans to raise £1.6 million by May 2011 to build the ground. The main bulk of raised cash was anticipated to come from outside parties who would be investing in Maidstone United Ground Ltd rather than the football club itself. The decision to keep investors money away from the football club was made to "offer investors the incentive of a substantial and tangible asset (the stadium) and to isolate them from the risks inherent from a football club business". By June 2011 the club had raised £1 million towards building the ground and had purchased the lands freehold outright from the Ministry of Defence
, and although the full £1.6M had not been raised, the club decided it was now time to go ahead with the construction of the stadium.
drilling site at James Whatman Way, close to Maidstone's
town centre and next to the River Medway
. It is also a short walk from the Fremlin Walk
shopping centre and the 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) Whatman Park, and is adjacent to the Invicta Rowing Club and the Kent Library and History Centre.
and the M2
. It is under a five minutes drive from the M20
junction 6 and is ten minutes from the M2
junction 3. The ground is also a five minute walk from two railway stations, Maidstone East
(Maidstone East Line) and Maidstone Barracks
(Medway Valley Line
).
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...
. Construction of the stadium began in September 2011 and is expected to be built by August 2012.
The Stadium
The stadium will initially consist of a 3rd generation artificial pitch, a seated main stand, two covered terraces, a club house, changing rooms, floodlights and parking. It will be a modular build, meaning the current capacity of 3,000 can be easily increased with the expansion of the three stands. The club house also has the option of being expanded with the building of a second floor.3G Artificial Pitch
Rather than the traditional choice of grass, Maidstone will be the first English team to build a stadium with 3rd generation artificial turf. The reasons for going with 3G turf were twofold, the first being to eliminate match postponements caused by waterlogging and freezing conditions, and the second is so that the pitch can be hired out, bringing in vital funds for the club.A major downside of the 3G pitch is that so far the club has only gained permission to use the pitch in the Isthmian League
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...
and the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
. The club have yet to receive permission to use the pitch for matches in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
(Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
/ North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
& South
Conference South
Conference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
). Maidstone would be able to play FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
matches at a neutral venue or the home ground of their opponents but promotion to the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
would not be possible until permission is granted from the league or the 3G turf is replaced with grass.
Stands
There will be stands on the north, east and south sides of the pitch. The west side will feature hard standing only due to a water pipe underneath meaning no building can take place unless the pipe is moved.North Stand: The North end will provide covered terracing for 500 spectators, and can be reserved for away supporters when segregation is required.
East Stand: The Main stand will be on the Eastern side of the ground and will include 300 spectator seats, six wheelchair bays with accompanying seats for carers, eight media seats, two corporate/sponsor boxes and a directors box. The stand will be situated 1.5 metres above pitch level.
South Stand: The South end of the ground will provide a covered terrace for 250 supporters as well as being where the changing rooms, medical room and storage room will be installed. There will be an extendible tunnel and movable barriers for players and officials to make their way to and from the pitch.
Other
The ground's clubhouse will be located at the South East corner of the stadium. It will be able to hold 390 people when standing and 190 when all seated.Floodlights cannot be installed on one side of the ground due to the narrow nature of the site and restrictions from the authorities. However floodlights will be installed that reach the level needed at the Football League's League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
and Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
.
Future Expansion
If and when expansion is required in the future, then the stadium capacity can be increased to a maximum of 7,000 and will be of a standard suitable for league football.Pre-construction
After reforming in 1992 (after the original Maidstone club went out of business and resigned from the Football League), Maidstone played in the Kent County LeagueKent County League
The Kent County League, currently known as the haart of Kent County League for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition based in Kent, England. The league has four senior divisions - a Premier Division, Division One Division Two East and West, plus reserve divisions...
Division 4 with their home games taking place where the original clubs
Maidstone United F.C. (1897)
The original Maidstone United was an English football club that existed from 1897 to 1992. The club played in the Football League Fourth Division from 1989 until their demise in 1992. During their time in the Football League Maidstone played their games at Dartford's Watling Street Ground...
old training pitch had been situated at London Road, near Allington
Allington, Kent
Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated alongside the sides of the A20 road west of Maidstone in Kent. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone. It has 2 primary schools; Allington Primary and Palace Wood...
. The club worked their way through the Kent County League
Kent County League
The Kent County League, currently known as the haart of Kent County League for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition based in Kent, England. The league has four senior divisions - a Premier Division, Division One Division Two East and West, plus reserve divisions...
and were promoted to the Kent League
Kent League
The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:...
Premier Division in 2001. However the current ground was nowhere near Kent League
Kent League
The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:...
standards - so the club elected to groundshare with Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne F.C.
Sittingbourne F.C. are a football club based in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. They were established in 1886 and were founder members of the Kent League. They have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup at least twice in their history...
while they tried to engineer a move to their preferred site for a new stadium in Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
at James Whatman Way. Numerous legal disputes and even a colony of Great Crested Newts at Whatman Way delayed the clubs attempts to get permission to build the ground, however in 2004 the club finally made its first steps towards returning to their home town when an application for planning permission to build a stadium at James Whatman Way was unanimously accepted.
However, no real work could begin until the lease to acquire the ground from its owners the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
was signed. After yet more red tape was surpassed the lease was finally signed in March 2006. Despite Maidstone now having the green light to start construction, there were questions over the clubs ability to finance the stadium and almost a year passed before some preliminary work took place in January 2007. Unfortunately no significant inroads were made and soon the site became overgrown and disused, with no construction taking place . In the summer of 2008, with no movement at Whatman Way since the initial work and Maidstone suffering financial problems, it was decided the club were unable to fund the ground themselves and a bid was placed for a £1.2 million grant from the Football Foundation to build the stadium. However the bid was turned down. This came as a massive blow, and after this the new stadium took a back seat as all funds were focussed on keeping the club afloat.
A change of club ownership in October 2010 saw a renewed attempt to move to the stadium. A new company named Maidstone United Ground Ltd was formed to deal solely with stadium matters, and in January 2011 the club announced its plans to raise £1.6 million by May 2011 to build the ground. The main bulk of raised cash was anticipated to come from outside parties who would be investing in Maidstone United Ground Ltd rather than the football club itself. The decision to keep investors money away from the football club was made to "offer investors the incentive of a substantial and tangible asset (the stadium) and to isolate them from the risks inherent from a football club business". By June 2011 the club had raised £1 million towards building the ground and had purchased the lands freehold outright from the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
, and although the full £1.6M had not been raised, the club decided it was now time to go ahead with the construction of the stadium.
Construction
After some preliminary work taking place throughout August 2011, full construction of the stadium began on September 26 2011.Location
The stadium will be situated on a former Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
drilling site at James Whatman Way, close to Maidstone's
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
town centre and next to the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
. It is also a short walk from the Fremlin Walk
Fremlin Walk
Fremlin Walk is a shopping centre in the town of Maidstone in Kent. it opened in 2005 after several years of development by Centros Miller to include of shopping and an 800 space car park.- History :...
shopping centre and the 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) Whatman Park, and is adjacent to the Invicta Rowing Club and the Kent Library and History Centre.
Transport
The site is close to two motorways, the M20M20 motorway
The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It runs from the M25 motorway to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long...
and the M2
M2 motorway
The M2 is a motorway in Kent, England. It is 25.7 miles long and acts as a bypass of the section of the A2 road which runs through the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne and Faversham.- Route :...
. It is under a five minutes drive from the M20
M20 motorway
The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It runs from the M25 motorway to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long...
junction 6 and is ten minutes from the M2
M2 motorway
The M2 is a motorway in Kent, England. It is 25.7 miles long and acts as a bypass of the section of the A2 road which runs through the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne and Faversham.- Route :...
junction 3. The ground is also a five minute walk from two railway stations, Maidstone East
Maidstone East railway station
Maidstone East railway station is one of three stations in the central area of Maidstone, Kent, but currently the only one with a regular direct service to London. The station is on the Maidstone East Line, south-east of London Victoria , and is served by trains operated by...
(Maidstone East Line) and Maidstone Barracks
Maidstone Barracks railway station
Maidstone Barracks railway station is one of three railway stations which serve Maidstone in Kent. It is on the Medway Valley Line, and train services are provided by Southeastern....
(Medway Valley Line
Medway Valley Line
The Medway Valley Line is the name given to the railway line linking and the Medway Towns with and onward to , and London St Pancras International...
).