Ewood Park given ‘community value’ status
A BLACKBURN Rovers supporters group has succeeded in legally protecting Ewood Park as an “asset of community value”.
The Rovers Trust is one of the first in the country to take advantage of a relatively new Act of Parliament allowing football grounds to be recognised as significant to communities and giving safeguards for supporters should any attempt be made to sell the ground.
The listing of Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers since 1890, has been formalised by Blackburn with Darwen Council under the Localism Act 2011.
One of its provisions requires the owners of Blackburn Rovers to inform the council and the Rovers Trust if the ground is to be offered for sale. The owners must also give the trust a six months to prepare and make their own bid for the ground.
The club was sold by a trust owned by the family of the late steel magnate Jack Walker for £38m to Venky’s London in late 2010. It is owned by the Indian Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group, a £1bn business founded and owned by the Rao family which has a diverse range of interests including poultry exporting and pharmaceuticals.
Paul Brooking, executive officer at the Rovers Trust, said: “We are delighted the council agrees with us that Ewood Park holds a special place in the local community and with the people of East Lancashire.
“Dating back more than 120 years the famous old ground has been built, rebuilt and built again under the stewardship of several philanthropic and far-sighted owners, most recently by Jack Walker. Blackburn Rovers fans will welcome this protection of the ground Jack Walker built for the team and for the supporters. Ewood Park should continue to be the home of Blackburn Rovers for many generations to come.”
Ewood Park was officially opened in September 1890 with a match against Accrington with 10,000 spectators attending. The ground staged an international match between England and Scotland as early as April 1891.
Other grounds that have been protected in this way are Manchester United Old Trafford, Liverpool’s Anfield stadium and the grounds of Oxford United and Nuneaton Town.
