A £2.5B ($3.6B) regeneration scheme around Wembley Stadium "has been given the green light" despite warnings from football chiefs that it was a "recipe for disaster," according to Matt Watts of the London EVENING STANDARD. The FA said that funneling thousands of departing fans "like cattle" down narrow streets to two new car parks to the west of the national stadium would see them held in a "kettling pen" on matchdays. But plans for the car parks were approved on Wednesday by Brent Council, along with a scheme to bring 4,850 new homes, 350,000 square feet of new offices and shops, two new hotels, a new seven-acre public park, student accommodation and a 600-place primary school to Wembley Park "as part of one of the biggest regeneration schemes in Europe." Sport England and the Department of Culture, Media & Sport "have also both written to the council to formally raise concerns." FA Operations Dir Julie Harrington said that developer Quintain was "working from a position to maximize profits" rather than to "protect fan safety." Transport consultants working for the FA "presented analysis showing fans could have to wait for up to three hours to board coaches under the new layout." Harrington warned that the FA "would not be able to attract major events to Wembley if fans can’t leave the car park" (EVENING STANDARD, 5/12).
