Councillors at Shenley Parish Council (SPC) have voiced their displeasure after the dome at Watford FC’s training ground was allowed to stay up.
Seven years on from when permission was granted for the dome at the training ground on Bell Lane, the appeal to allow it to stay permanently has now been won.
The club have been told they can only use the dome for sports and community purposes. If contravened, Watford may be asked to take the dome down within 30 days.
SPC councillor Natalie Susman said: “I am disappointed. It was only meant to be up for the winter months.”
Chair Rosemary Gilligan admitted that the dome is an “eyesore”.
She said: “Nobody imagined when they put through planning permission that this would be the result.”
A spokesperson for Hertsmere Borough Council said: “We acknowledge the outcome of the appeal and are currently reviewing the decision internally.”
Ian Pope, operations and facilities director at Watford FC, said the dome’s community value made it important that it was allowed to stay.
He said: “We believe this positive decision has come as the result of a strongly represented case we put forward – alongside our legal representatives – at a Public Inquiry held back in May, just after last season had ended.
“The report from the Planning Inspectorate which accompanied the decision gave significant weighting to the fact that a huge number of local people would be severely disadvantaged if planning permission for the dome was permanently revoked.”
Photo credit: credit Stoke Mandeville Football Club X
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