“Although we brought LCA in after the [training ground] application was submitted, they hit the ground running and used their long standing experience to help us shape the final stages of the campaign to gain permission for our training facility. Their strategic advice was clear and well thought through, with a focus on what had to be done, not what might be done. Their implementation was dedicated and energetic. They delivered under significant time pressure.”
In September 2006, Enfield Council turned down Spurs’ planning application for a new football training facility on green belt land just south of the M25. The facility was to combine the Academy and the First and Reserve Team training alongside the club’s charitable Foundation. Following acquisition of the adjacent Whitewebbs Sports Club, Spurs then submitted a revised application in mid 2007 and soon after that, they appointed LCA to advise on the strategy through to planning committee.
LCA ran a major campaign especially focused on Enfield residents, businesses and organisations, recognising that, whilst a petition of fans is valuable, showing real local support was vital. This involved direct mailing and door dropping an eight page brochure to some 30,000 homes, events and club activity, with email generation of letters of support driven direct to the Council. The result was that 6,400 supporters signed the online petition, of which 747 were Enfield residents. 58 Proforma letters and 184 individual letters were received by the council, all of which came from residents of Enfield. This both outperformed the opposition numerically and the campaign in 2006.
LCA also prepared both the club and its key professional advisers on key message development, presentation skills and Q&A, each addressing the three main reasons for the 2006 refusal. We also supported the club’s press team, helping with releases, letters and statements, with a special focus on moving the local media from a generally negative stance to a neutral one.
The revised application was approved by Enfield Council and was not called in by the Mayor of London or the Government Office for London. LCA is now working with THFC on the programme for construction ensuring that the impact of the development on local residents is minimised. LCA regularly informs residents of the work programme, manages a hotline for complaints and advises the club on positive PR aspects of the redevelopment. The new training centre will be completed by 2012.