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Everton stadium inquiry commences Everton club plans 'are wrong'
(about 11 hours later)
A public inquiry into plans to build a new 50,000-seat stadium for Everton Football Club along with housing and a Tesco superstore is under way. Everton Football Club's plans to build a 50,000-seat stadium are "wrong", campaigners told a public inquiry.
The £400m development would see the club move to Kirkby and be part of a complex of shops, offices and hotels. The £400m development would see the club move to Kirkby and be part of a complex of shops, offices, hotels and a Tesco superstore.
The plans have been backed by Knowsley Council's planning committee, which believes local people would benefit. The scheme was approved by Knowsley Council in June but Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears later rejected them.
But Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears did not give the go-ahead for the scheme. Keep Everton in Our City (KEIOC) was formed in 2007 to oppose the plans.
Dave Kelly, chairman of KEIOC, which is made up of Everton fans, told the inquiry on Tuesday: "I love my town Kirkby as much as I love Everton Football Club.
The application will deliver a considerable number and range of benefits John Francis, planning consultant
"But I don't think they sit together.
"The great land giveaway is wrong for the people of Kirkby.
"I believe (Everton) should stay in the Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008," added Mr Kelly, a season ticket holder of 35 years.
The hearing, held in the Kirkby Civic Suite, Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby, is expected to last at least four weeks with a decision made by the spring.The hearing, held in the Kirkby Civic Suite, Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby, is expected to last at least four weeks with a decision made by the spring.
A stadium will not contribute to stability, it will ruin stability in Kirkby The Reverend Tim Stratford If the plans are given the go-ahead, more than 2,300 jobs could be created, including 350 which Tesco has earmarked for long-term unemployed people and Knowsley residents.
If the plans get the green light, more than 2,300 jobs could be created, including 350 which Tesco has earmarked for long-term unemployed people and Knowsley residents. Knowsley Council has said the development would also attract an extra 1.2m visitors to the borough every year, spending an additional £13.6m in the local economy.
Knowsley Council has said the development would also attract an extra 1.2 million visitors to the borough every year, spending an additional £13.6m in the local economy. 'Range of benefits'
Mr Kelly added: "You need only to make one recommendation and that is to refuse it planning permission."
Kirkby is one of the most socially and economically-deprived areas in the North West.
The first witness, planning consultant John Francis, read from a report he wrote in support of the plans which was sent to Ms Blears's department.
In the document Mr Francis said: "It is an understatement to suggest it, the proposed site and the town centre, is badly in need of regeneration.
"The application will deliver a considerable number and range of benefits."
The plans are being opposed by Liverpool City Council and group of other authorities - Sefton Council, St Helens Council, West Lancashire Council and Lancashire County Council.The plans are being opposed by Liverpool City Council and group of other authorities - Sefton Council, St Helens Council, West Lancashire Council and Lancashire County Council.
A Kirkby action group of local residents and the Keep Everton In Our City group of Goodison Park fans are also against the proposals. But several Kirkby residents have also been supporting the plans.
'Final decision' One group, Kirkby Residents In Support of Progress (KRISP), has collected hundreds of signatures from local people in support of the new stadium.
Local residents are concerned about possible pollution and congestion. The inquiry is expected to last four weeks.
In June the Reverend Tim Stratford, chairman of the Kirkby Residents' Action Group, said: "Kirkby has had a bad history but we have come a long way since then and this is a town that people living here like living in on the whole.
"A stadium will not contribute to stability, it will ruin stability in Kirkby."
There are also a large number of Kirkby residents who are supporting the plans.
One group, Kirkby Residents In Support of Progress (KRISP) has collected hundreds of signatures from local people.
In August Councillor Ron Round, leader of Knowsley Council, said: "The people of Kirkby deserve a final decision on the regeneration of their town and holding the inquiry before the end of the year will bring clarity on the future of this development."