What do you mean 'wrong again' ....... Ashley does NOT own the land the ground is built on nor does the club.
"NEWCASTLE United have - as tenants of the prestigious St. James' Park site - never had an easy route from the outset in attempting to modernise their facilities."
"During the Twenties the club attempted to take development a stage further,
putting plans together for covered accommodation on the open sides of the ground. Archibald Leitch, a distinguished football ground architect was employed
to produce a scheme which included double-decker stands and complete cover around the ground.
However,
after much wrangling between landlord and planners which lasted to 1930,
all that was built was a modest cover over the Leazes End enclosure."
As for my claim that 'The council has, over the years, blocked expansion of the stadium.'
"And during the Fifties
United's officials were again in turbulent disagreement with the Council over the thorny question of developing the same side of the stadium. United applied to build a two-tier stand, which would have increased capacity to 80,000.
Newcastle United's plan never got off the drawing board."
"IN THE aftermath of the Bradford City fire disaster in 1985, local councils aimed safety checks on all existing facilities and considering the age of United's West Stand, the
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were bound to have problems - and they did. The structure came under vigorous inspection. Newcastle had to start to plan for a replacement. Another redevelopment proposal was lodged - with the original scheme now scrapped - but
the City Council refused permission for the project. Further discussions took place and eventually part of the scheme was accepted."
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