The battle begins for Gypsies Green

Shields Gazette
28th September 2007
By Paul Myles-Kelly

A FIGHTBACK against the sell-off of Gypsies Green Stadium was launched today.
The Gypsies Green Action Group has been formed to oppose plans to build a £15m hotel and conference centre on South Shields seafront.A website address has been set up so people can log on and sign an online protest petition.And group members will be out in force with the petition on Sunday at the finishing line of the Great North Run on the seafront.

A website address has been set up so people can log on and sign an online protest petition.

And group members will be out in force with the petition on Sunday at the finishing line of the Great North Run on the seafront.

Meanwhile, a veteran protester has been brought on board to help guide the group's campaign.Neil Herron, chief campaigner of the Metric Martyr pressure group, has been advising members on how to proceed with their fight.

Dozens of residents gathered at the New Crown Hotel in South Shields this week to express their dismay at the hotel plans .

One of the group founders, Bill Hepburn, who lives near to the stadium on The Broadway, said:

"Gypsies Green is an asset to the town. It is synonymous with South Shields. "The 50,000 runners taking part in the Great North Run, whether they are from China or Canada, know that Gypsies Green is in South Shields. "We can't just throw that away. Once that view is lost we will not be able to get it back."

One of the suggestions mooted at the meeting was to upgrade the sporting facilities at complex.

Retired Mr Hepburn said:

"People are incensed at the blasè way the council is pushing this through."Do we really need a four-star hotel in the town? Is the clientele there for
a four star hotel? I don't think so."

Mr Hepburn also called on any sporting clubs that are interested in utilising the stadium – or have been blocked from using it in the past – to e-mail the group with details.

Work on the 104-bed hotel, housing one of the biggest conferencing centres in North East England, could start early next year – with completion earmarked for summer 2009.
Sale of the land to Tavistock Leisure Limited was agreed at a meeting of the council's decision-making cabinet in August. But the new protest group plans to present a robust case against the scheme when the council's planning committee debates the issue.

Mr Herron said:

"I think the protesters have a very good case, and I'm glad to be able to use my experiences in the past to help point them in the right direction."

To sign the group's protest petition log on to
www.gypsiesgreen.blogspot.com.

Last Updated: 28 September 2007 12:48 PM