Wrexham Kop expansion approved, residents parking scheme to be examined
Council backs the Kop stand increase to 7,750 seats while pledging to study a matchday residents parking scheme amid fan‑resident tensions.
Wrexham County Borough Council has given the green light to expand the Kop stand at the Racecourse Stadium, raising its capacity from 5,500 to 7,750 seats.
The decision, taken at the council’s Planning Committee on Monday, comes with a pledge to examine a residents‑only matchday parking scheme after a surge in confrontations between supporters and locals.
Wrexham AFC’s own research predicts the extra 1,250 seats will generate at least 1,700 additional car journeys on matchdays, despite a strategic travel plan that promotes city‑centre parking, rail and bus use.
The original proposal featured an enhanced park‑and‑ride system, utilisation of private city‑centre car parks and a residents’ parking restriction designed to curb the forecast that 97 % of nearby residential spaces could be occupied by fans.
Highways officers from the council’s Environment department issued a late addendum questioning the practicality of such a scheme.
“implementation of a match state parking scheme cannot be guaranteed because there’s a regulatory process through the traffic regulation or the process which you have to go through, which does include consultation that residents have the option to object to.” “A resident’s matchday parking scheme would not provide any additional transport capacity or reduce demand for private car, travel to the stadium by private car.”
Councillor Phil Wynn, who supported the expansion, voiced strong disappointment at the removal of the residential parking provision.
“I want to acknowledge the club’s ambitious plans to deliver an extended Racecourse Stadium fit for the Premiership,” he said. “Having read the addendum, it has let me somewhat deflated on behalf of my residents.”
When I read the report last week, it clearly addressed the solution – residential parking in the side streets near to the stadium. “I am deflated that officers have decided to delete all reference to that solution.”
“Other local authorities employ matchday residents parking schemes legally throughout this country so why can’t Wrexham?” I do accept that it will not provide any additional transport capacity.
“However, if fans cannot park near to the stadium, one hopes they will follow the guidance of the travel plan that’s been provided by the club and they will look for alternative methods of travelling to the club, be it by train, by bus or by sharing more people in a car.” “Turning to the risk that matchday parking would be displaced into areas not covered by the scheme, the club’s reports strongly suggest that fans will park in the car parking spaces in the city centre and I hope that is proven to right.”
“If fans cannot park in residential side streets one hopes they are actually displaced into the city centre.” “I spoke with the Chief Officer for Environment this morning and he assured me that a matchday residents parking scheme was not a strategic interest of his department.”
“There is a solution offered to you in the original report and now somebody has decided to put a line through that.” “We’ve got video evidence of people in wheelchairs being forced to ride in the middle of the road and there have been incidences where people in wheelchairs have been hit.”
Other councillors warned that fan‑related incidents have already strained local streets, citing reports of wheelchair users being forced into traffic and instances of aggression.
“There’s also concerns at times over people double parking, which means residents are deeply concerned that fire engines and blue light vehicles will struggle to get into their estates.” “We did a survey about three years ago when the original report for the Kop stand was brought to Planning Committee and about 40% of the houses in my ward responded said they’d had an altercation with a fan.”
I have even had a similar experience. “People urinate in people’s gardens, people dump their rubbish out their cars.”
Despite the concerns, the Planning Committee approved the expansion, attaching a commitment to investigate the feasibility of a matchday residents parking scheme near the stadium.
The council will now commission a detailed assessment, weighing the regulatory hurdles highlighted by highways officers against the safety and quality‑of‑life arguments raised by local representatives.