Southwark Council has given the green light to plans for Dulwich Hamlet FC’s Champion Hill stadium renovation, featuring a 4,000 capacity stadium and 219 new homes on the wider site.
The new stadium and facilities will be built on an old astro turf pitch located in playing fields next to the existing stadium in Champion Hill.
It will have an all-weather pitch, floodlighting, a three-storey clubhouse and a ‘kick-about’ space for the local community. When the new pitch isn’t being used on match days, it will be available for local community hire.
The council have also approved 219 new homes near the stadium, with buildings between four and six storeys high.
Dulwich Hamlet FC’s old and stadium and its associated buildings will be be demolished.
Greendale Playing Fields next to the current stadium will not be impacted by the development and will remain as open space.
Dulwich Hamlet FC have played in the borough for 123 years and the council says this development will ‘secure the future’ of the team.
Ben Clasper, Chairman of Dulwich Hamlet FC has welcomed the plans. He said: “The cabinet decision to approve the disposal of land is the final piece of a puzzle we have been trying to solve for many years to regenerate the area, deliver new housing and secure the long-term future of our community football club.
“There is no better Christmas present we can offer our fans than starting the first phase of our new stadium development this month and finally implementing our consented scheme.
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“With this approval, the building of the new stadium will return the club to the site we were first able to call our own home more than a hundred years ago and the building of new homes will contribute to meeting the critical demand for housing in Southwark.”
Councillor Richard Leeming, Deputy Cabinet member with responsibility for Leisure & Sports said: “This is the most vital win of the season for Dulwich Hamlet FC, a cherished club in Southwark’s history and culture, who can now plan for a bright future supported by thousands of fans in a modern new stadium.
“It’s also really important to the council and the community that this arrangement includes access to the new facilities outside of matchdays and new kickabout spaces, the preservation of current green space, and of course more vital new housing for the borough.”
