🛑 6 DAYS LEFT: Don't let the RFU shatter our peaceful weekends.

Dear Neighbours,

As we head into the weekend, many of us are finally settling in after a long week at work to relax, enjoy the sunshine, spend time in our gardens and catch up with family. 

It is exactly this kind of weekend peace and quiet that makes our community feel like home.

But right now, that very peace is under direct threat, and the deadline to write your objection is counting down ⏱️ 

We currently have 3,827 signatures on our community petition!  🙌🏻🙌🏻

This is an incredible achievement, but we only have 6 days left before the Richmond Council planning portal closes for good next Thursday, 27th August.

If you are relaxing this evening, please take just three minutes to complete the most important step of this fight. If you have signed our petition but haven't left a quick comment to object directly on the council's official page yet, writing an individual objection on the council portal is the only way to make the council legally listen.

The stadium wants the council to think that jumping from 3 to 15 massive summer concerts won't change our lives. Imagine 15 weekends of your summer completely taken over by loud sound-checks, idling traffic, and neighborhood lockdowns.

To make it as easy as possible for you tonight, here are the Top 10 reasons you can object. Just pick a few points that matter to your household and put them in your own words on the portal:

1. Shattering our weekend peace: 15 massive music festivals mean our quiet summer weekends will be replaced by loud stadium sound-checks, heavy bass thumping, and shouting crowds finishing late into the night.
2. Trapped in our homes by toxic fumes: Traffic gridlock leaves thousands of car engines idling right outside our front doors. Instead of enjoying the summer air, neighbours are forced to seal their windows and doors shut just to avoid breathing in toxic exhaust fumes.
3. Total gridlock on our roads: Multiplying these events means our roads will be completely blocked on a regular basis, making it a nightmare just to drive home, visit family, or get around the area.
4. Ambulances blocked when every second counts: Total road paralysis means that emergency vehicles and ambulances will struggle to get through the traffic blocks to reach local families or get to West Middlesex Hospital.
5. Overcrowded and delayed trains: Dumping 75,000 music fans onto our small single-line railway network completely overwhelms the service, causing severe transport delays and packed, dangerous platforms for ordinary passengers.
6. Late-night anti-social behaviour: Having thousands of drinking fans pouring onto our streets past 10:30 PM leads to loud shouting, littering, and people using our front gates, fences, and walls as public toilets.
7. Locked out of our own streets: Frequent event days mean constant road closures that trap us in our own roads, making it a struggle just to go to the local shops or receive standard online deliveries.
8. Dangerous, narrow pavements: Our local pavements are far too narrow for 75,000 people. Crowds spill right off the kerb into live traffic, creating a massive safety risk for anyone walking.
9. Damage to our private property: The sheer volume of foot traffic causes direct wear-and-tear and physical damage, with people smashing front fences, tramping through hedges, and dropping rubbish in our gardens.
10. Our area has hit its absolute limit: Our neighbourhood, our roads, and our transport links are completely full.

We simply cannot take a 400% increase in massive stadium events.

Your voice is incredibly important. The council has to listen to us, but only if we show up on the planning portal. 

Please click the link below, click the button to object, and type in the everyday issues that bother your household before you settle into your weekend:

👉 [LINK TO COUNCIL PLANNING PORTAL FOR APPLICATION PA26/2057]

Let's push past 4,000 signatures this weekend and make sure the council cannot ignore our community.

Please forward this email to five of your neighbours right now or share this message in your WhatsApp street group.

Thank you for standing up for our neighbourhood. Enjoy your weekend!

Best wishes,

Amanda Bail

Frontline Resident & Campaign Coordinator