[Official Site] CHANGES TO OUR CAR PARK OPERATION THIS SEASON

The car park issues deteriorated in general towards the end of the season, so it's probably worth picking up on the general issues too. Not having stewards telling people where to park and getting them to keep gaps to a minimum just opened the floodgates to selfish drivers blocking off huge spaces where another 20 cars could have gone. Ironically, given the announcement from the club, on one occasion I was directed to park in one of the disabled bays which were the only ones still accessible at that time, but there was a huge empty space in the upper section of the car park that had been blocked off by other cars.

I agree with the sentiment from others about the delays in opening the car park too. 15-20 minutes used to be the norm, but it was getting close to an hour in the last few games of the season.

Something definitely needed to change, but the new announcement sounds like it will make things worse overall (apart from the fact that it looks likely to reduce ongoing demand for season parking passes, which may perhaps have been the intention).

 

Barnsley football club don’t give two hoots about our loyal supporters all they want to do is antagonise us and take our MONEY
IT SHOULD BE AWAY SUPPORTERS WAITING UNTIL WE HAVE ALL GONE

 

For me the biggest change is the closing of the gates at half an hour before kick off.

I transport an old gentleman who can just about walk from the disabled parking spaces to the turnstiles in the East Stand without discomfort.

The problem is, our usual routine is I pick him up in Cudworth at 2 o'clock for a 3 o'clock kick off and 90% of the time we arrive at the car park by 2.15 to 2.20, however on several occasions last season, coach getting stuck near ground, temporary traffic lights etc, we arrived after 2.30, my question is will these events be factored in or will no exceptions be made?? If this is the case then there is no way my passenger is seeing the match as he is not capable of walking the extra distance and probably me too as I will have to take him back home.

I believe the club needs to come out and let us know what will happen in situations that occur like this.

 

There's always been a drive to try and get folk in the ground early. Be that to spend money or what is probably the goal.

So. To achieve that they have to think of ideas which will encourage it.

This likely one of them, at a guess

 

I don’t go to away games any more bit I do remember that it was always us who had suffer a lock-in until the home fans had dispersed. There were variations like at Scunny where you could leave the ground and go to the adjacent car park straight away. But then you had to wait until every last pedestrian from the home section had cleared the road. Then there was nearly trouble at Chesterfield where we were kept just feet away from the open gates but told to wait our turn. I pleaded with more than one policeman that I was heading in the opposite direction to the majority, parked some distance away but no good. Stay put grrrrr!

 

Stories like this illustrate what a nonsense it is applying unreasonable restrictions on genuine fans. I can see hundreds, if not thousands, calling time on this old habit of visiting Oakwell over the coming years. It just makes no sense to alienate long-standing supporters like that

 

Do you travel away. Try Norwich or Yeovil and come back to me. It's a friggin nightmare. Still see floodlights 1n half hrs after the game. A better solution is needed still not sure why Queens rd isn't used.

 

The problem is I don't think anyone at the Club has responsibility for supporters with a disability - so that anyone with an issue is fobbed off.
There should be a named person at the Club to deal with these issues.
I think Beth did a lot of good work to accommodate supporters with a disability.
At present the Club is discriminating against supporters with a disability.

 

Is the Supporters Group involved in issues concerning supporters with a disability ?

 

This has probably been answered before but who does the SAG comprise of?

 

I made an FOI to BMBC re who was on the group and for copies of the minutes from the meetings. I need to follow it up as they tried to fob me off. I'll send an email now.

 

This was the reply I received from BMBC back in March:

Re: Request for Information – Freedom of Information Act 2000
I wish to confirm that the Core Services Directorate has now completed its search for the
information which you requested by e-mail on 2nd March 2023.

Your questions and my findings are as follows:-

Further to my request with Your ref: FOI/1190 I would now like to make a further
request, please accept this request as a FOI if you are unable to action it without me
doing so. In your reply you mention "Safety Advisory Group and organisations who
are members of the Group". Please can you provide me the full details of this group
including it's members, how / when they are appointed, when they meet, the remit of
the group, the legal powers of the group and any minutes of any meetings including
site visits for the last five years.


Details of the Safety Advisory Group are in the Group’s Terms of Reference which are
published on the Council’s website at: https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/media/19911/bfc-terms-
of-reference.pdf (please note that these are currently subject to review and will be updated).
These include details of the group’s membership, along with the respective remit and role in
support of the Council’s regulation of sports stadia.

The Safety Advisory Group does not have any legal powers. The authority to issue, revise
etc. the General Safety Certificate for Oakwell lies with the Council’s Planning Regulatory
Board with this delegated to the Council’s Executive Director Core Services with these
published on the Council’s website, see the Council’s Constitution (May 2022) and Part 1
Terms of Reference and Delegations of Full Council, Regulatory Boards and Committees
and Functions Delegated to Officers (May 2022)

The minutes of the Safety Advisory Group meeting are considered to be of public record
however, these may contain sensitive information, relating to health and safety that should
not be in the public domain. Therefore, Section 38 would apply in these specific instances
requiring the minutes to be appropriately redacted. This redaction will take time to complete
and involve:

1. Initial redaction by the Council

2. Consultation with Safety Advisory Group members on the need for any additional
redaction (including consulting Barnsley FC on whether any information was disclosed to
the Safety Advisory Group in confidence)

3. Production of final redacted minutes

Due to officer leave the redaction will not begin until mid-April and partners will be given a
minimum four weeks to respond. Therefore, it is anticipated that redacted minutes will be
available in June.

Finally, the name of the group would suggest they are "advisory".

Are recommendations of this group legally binding?

See the Safety Advisory Group Terms of Reference which are published on the Council’s
website at: https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/media/19911/bfc-terms-of-reference.pdf (please
note that these are currently subject to review and will be updated).

What would be the consequences for example to Barnsley Football Club if they failed
to close the Beevor Court entrance to pedestrian supporters on match days?

This is a hypothetical question which cannot be answered as it falls outside the scope of an
FOI request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact Information Requests on (01226) 77
5759. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

If you are unhappy with the way the Directorate has handled your request, you may ask for
an internal review. Please clearly mark your correspondence ‘Complaint’ and address it to:
Barnsley MBC
Information Requests Team
email:informationrequests@barnsley.gov.uk
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can
be contacted at:-
Customer Services Team
Information Commissioner’s Office
website address: www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely
Michael Potter
Service Director of Business Improvement, Human Resources and Communications

 

Odd that doesn't happen elsewhere though. Every away match I've been to, it's the away fans that wait behind if necessary.

 

Gearing us up for a move out of town to a brand spanking new stadium with NO parking.

 

The thought has crossed my mind!

 

Give the South stand carpark to elderly and disabled supporters and that's it.
Nothing further to discuss.

We can't create more parking spaces and we can't improve pontefracte road or access off Grove street
No other choices or options and any idiot can see that.
If you are in the South stand you have to wait for the majority of walking fans to get out of the way or someone will get killed.

If you have good mobility park away from the ground it's all part of it and the same at the majority of grounds.