Well we all know magpies like shiny things and so it was back in April 2023, when the football club thought it was OK to peck at the athletics track and rugby ground, with the aim of building their own football stadium based on the principle that if only they had a shiny stadium, more fans would magically appear and their performance on the pitch would improve!
There is a long history, Maidenhead having played at York Road since 1871, making it the ‘oldest senior football ground continuously used by the same club’ in the world. Taking over the rugby and athletics space really didn’t feel right, and so I suggested the call-in to local Councillors.
The new application makes way more sense, taking over the back end of the park. The council is in a difficult financial position, they cannot be seen to be turning down potential income and so the numbers must obviously add up.
So not the land fronting the A308 (shaded red) which formed the first application but the piece of land at the back (shaded green), opposite the sewage works, that is being / will be consulted on.
Fans may need to pray for south easterly winds on match days and hopefully this will also bring into play the folly that is Viscus Way car park, 500 parking spots ready to be filled, if the parking at the ground is full.
The decision that was made at cabinet on 27th January 2026:
AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:
i) Agreed to carry out a public open space consultation, on the identified land, in order to progress the proposals to the next stage of discussion for its potential development as a sports ground; and
ii) Delegated authority to the Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Planning & Governance to progress a public open space notice consultation and necessary liaison with MUFC
iii) Agreed to a report returning to Cabinet to review the outcome of the public open space notice and feedback received.
You can read the papers here: https://rbwm.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=509
I have asked for the link to the open space consultation and will add it here when it lands, so you can have your say.
Thank you.
Jon
