Level Playing Field are grateful to Charlton Athletic Disabled Supporters Association for telling us about the club’s recent involvement with some local students to improve facilities for visiting disabled supporters.
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Ruth decided to contact Mick Everett, Head of Operations at Charlton Athletic FC for more information about the project.
Charlton Athletic Community Trust was working on a multi-use games area outside the main ground when Mick met up with a group of Architecture students from Greenwich University who were visiting the site. It was a chance encounter, Mick told them he was looking for a design solution in the main ground and were they interested in helping.
The students jumped at the chance and Mick showed them to the disabled supporter area in the Away end. The club has known there are problems with the views for visiting fans who are wheelchair users for some time and they have looked at a number of proposals over the years but unfortunately none of them have progressed.
The brief was very clear :
- Any design would be considered
- Provide a nice area for Away supporters with improved views.
- Not too costly
- Do not lose more than 100 seats (it was felt 100 lost seats could be relocated)
The students went away to work on the project individually. They revisited the site a couple of times and then submitted their designs. The 4 preferred designs all received a distinction mark from their University and they were invited into the club to present their designs.
Mick told us, “All the students kept to the brief and one of them even gave us a net gain of seats. They all propose a cost effective elevated area. The next stage is asking contractors to quote for the work involved and hopefully one of the designs will be built”
Level Playing Field has asked to be kept informed and Mick has invited us to look at the designs once the quotations for the work have been received.
We feel this is an excellent way of getting more groups of people involved and helping to raise awareness within the wider community.