Bring The Dons Home makes appeal to London residents
A group of AFC Wimbledon supporters are urging all football fans and London residents to take part in a “London Calling” campaign after a recent decision to "call-in" the club’s new stadium planning application.
for supporters to write to candidates for the mayoral election in support of the plans for a Plough Lane return.appealThe club recently published an
Bring The Dons Home (BTDH) is urging as many people, whether Wimbledon fans or not, to do their bit and show the strength of feeling behind this proposal.
A spokesman from BTDH has asked us to publish the following:
"As you are probably already aware, in one of his last acts as London Mayor, Mr Johnson elected not to ratify Merton Council’s unanimous approval for the AFC Wimbledon / Galliard application to redevelop the Plough Lane stadium site. The Mayor was advised by the Greater London Authority (GLA) planners that there were “no sound grounds to intervene”, but despite this he “called-in” the application for a subsequent hearing.
This will take place after the election and will therefore be heard by his successor. Obviously, it is not yet known who will win the election on 5 May, but it is likely to be either Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party or Zac Goldsmith of the Conservative Party.
The same Mayor who called in this proposal recently approved Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium plans (which were approved by a majority 8-2 verdict of Haringey Council) and presided over an arrangement to allow West Ham use of the Olympic Stadium at allegedly advantageous rates to the club.
BTDH is delighted for the supporters of both teams, but would hope that all football fans would agree that a small community-owned club with significantly smaller revenue-streams should be treated equally as fairly by the Mayor of London as multi-million pound Premier League entities.
We also wish to remind supporters of the campaign’s aims and objectives:
• boost our local economy
• revitalise a neglected area
• coach and educate children
• extend award-winning community schemes
• secure the future of Wimbledon’s football club.
has been created , which will automatically e-mail both candidates. We are also urging supporters to forward news about this campaign to friends, colleagues and any other football fans or well-wishers across London so that Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan are made well aware how many people think that it’s time to Bring The Dons Home.formA simple
website."BTDH on the FAQ to his recent BBC London interview on the subject, and find more information on the planning application, consultations and approvals granted so far via an listen for submissions, appealYou can read AFC Wimbledon Chief Executive Erik Samuelson’s