Former Manchester United star Gary Neville and Class of 92 team-mates infuriate Salford residents with tactics to gain stadium planning permission
* The Class of 92 have won planning permission for new Salford City stadium
* Local residents are angry at the way Gary Neville and his former team-mates have won the go-ahead for the 5,000-seater ground
* Salford City council gave Neville and ex-Manchester United stars the green light despite more than 600 people objecting
* The defender co-owns the club with Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and business partner Peter Lim
Gary Neville, fresh from annoying football reporters by lecturing them on how to do their jobs, has also infuriated Salford residents by the way he and his Class of ’92 team-mates won hotly contested planning permission for a new football stadium.
Salford City Council gave the go-ahead for non-League Salford’s 5,000-seat ground at Moor Lane last week, with Neville and Ryan Giggs making presentations that won the day despite more than 600 people objecting.
Residents want a judicial review and claim councillors were in awe of Neville and Giggs, allowing them to rush through the planning process in just seven weeks. The ex-Manchester United stars co-own the National League North club with Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and business partner Peter Lim.
Gary Neville has seen Salford City successfully gain planning permission for a new stadium. Neville co-owns the club and gave presentations arguing for a 5,000-seater ground to be built
Residents association chairman David Mintz said: ‘This decree that planners can impose anything they want on to a neighbourhood without any consultation with its residents should send shockwaves across the country. It’s an insult to suggest we need Gary Neville to come down here and rebuild the ground. I’m sure he would object if we were building at the back of his garden.’
Salford shopkeeper Martin Bredski said: ‘There’s no doubt the council were influenced by the star factor of Gary Neville and his friends. Planning permission couldn’t have been granted any quicker and the lack of consultation has been a disgrace. This is a Jewish neighbourhood yet they organised the presentation of their plans on Yom Kippur before rescheduling without telling hardly anyone.’
A spokeswoman for the club owners called the objections ‘total rubbish’. A spokeswoman for Salford City Council said there had been significant community engagement.
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