Plans to build a giant football stand at Bradford City have been given the red card by Council officials.

Officers have backed residents who live next to the Valley Parade ground and argue the new 125 foot stand would block out light and slash the value of their homes.

Planning officials have recommended that members of the Bradford area planning subcommittee turn down the plans at a meeting on Thursday.

Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond held an emergency meeting with residents last night to rescue the scheme. He offered to underwrite the value of residents' homes should prices fall from today's market value in the next five years.

But residents in Rock Terrace said the club's offer was not good enough. All 11 residents in the street have objected to plans for the new stand arguing it would overshadow their homes blocking out sunlight.

The residents' spokesman John Murphy said: "I was gobsmacked when I saw the size of the new stand on the plans. It's just the sheer stature of it - it's absolutely enormous. One resident at the end of the terrace will have the new stand right over the top of his house.

"What annoys is that City did not bother to inform us about what was happening. We had to request a meeting with them."

He described last night's meeting as "frank" and said the possibility of the club buying the residents' houses to pave the way for the redevelopment of the Kop was discussed.

But he added that the club had been adamant that it did not have the finance to buy their homes at the kind of price they wanted.

Mr Murphy, 40, would not give exact figures, but said: "We gave them a ballpark figure which was quite realistic but they made it clear the club wouldn't be buying them on those terms."

He said Mr Richmond had offered some improvements to residents, who were worried that the area would become less safe because of the loss of light caused by the new stand.

"He talked about putting in better street lights and resurfacing the cobbled street at the back, which is a start," said Mr Murphy.

But he said this was not enough to persuade the residents to withdraw their objections. They will hold further discussions among themselves over the weekend before meeting club officials again on Monday evening (NOV 16).

Mr Richmond refused to comment after the meeting but earlier he called for fans to support City's proposal for the new 7,300 seater stand.

He warned that the club would be plunged into crisis if the stand was not given planning permission.

The football club has to demolish the Kop and build the all-seater stand by August 1999 as part of Government recommendations.

Planning officers say the plans should be turned down because of a lack of disabled facilities and the loss of amenities for the 11 homes in Rock Terrace.

Their report says: "The residents of Rock Terrace are unanimous in their objections to the proposal.

"The residents fear that the proposal will result in the loss of community spirit and, if residents move, the loss of a stable community.

"The proposed stand will dominate the street scene of Rock Terrace and will have an adverse impact in terms of local visual amenity."

Officers said that the stand would not effect the current levels of traffic at the ground and would not add to noise.

John Kilgallon of the North Avenue Action Group in Manningham said that many people sympathised with the residents.

"There are a number of concerns in the area about parking and traffic problems on match days," he said.

"Bradford City must address the issues with the residents who seem willing to compromise.

"Moving house is one of the most traumatic experiences in people's lives. In this case, if people are moving because they have to then they deserve to be compensated.

"Most people in Manningham are sympathetic to the residents' complaints. Everyone has a right to light and if it was an extension that was being built to this size then it would certainly be refused."

Planning chairman Syd Collard said he could not comment on the row until Thursday's meeting.

ends

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