Matchday urinating raised in views over new Man Utd stadium

Residents living near Manchester United's stadium are calling for more to be done to tackle anti-social behaviour on matchdays - including urinating in alleyways - amid a consultation on plans to build a new 100,000-capacity ground nearby.

Feedback from Old Trafford residents was given to the newly set-up Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) as part of the consultation.

Speaking at an MDC meeting, Trafford councillor Dave Acton said residents had complained to him about some fans urinating in alleyways, littering, and parking issues.

The MDC said it would use the responses to finalise the regeneration masterplan, due to go before the council's cabinet early next year.

Plans for a new stadium would see it built on the site of an indoor go-karting track in Trafford Park.

Acton, who represents the Gorse Hill ward, said: "We have lots of alleyways in Gorse Hill whereby the fans, unfortunately, urinate in the alleyways and this needs to be addressed."

He said another issue was traffic on matchdays and that residents had to pay for a permit, which they felt was unfair and caused "a lot of anger in the area".

"Residents are saying to us they should not have to pay for living next to the stadium," he said.

Acton said solutions needed to be found for this "because, obviously, there's going to be more fans at a 100,000-seat stadium".

The current stadium has a capacity for about 74,000 fans.

Speaking after the meeting, Acton said: "I spoke to residents and they tell me what they are having to put up with.

"It's always raised when we are knocking on doors and asking if they have got any issues," he added.

Residents taking part in the consultation also said they had concerns about matchday road closures stopping residents accessing or leaving their homes.

One resident described matchdays as "hellish" and "mad", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "People have put gates across their property to make it so people don't pee down the side because there's no toilet at the ground so people just pee up things."

Manchester United has teamed up with Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on the regeneration project, which also includes plans to build 15,000 new homes in the Wharfside area.

The club's proposed new home ground is expected to be the largest in the UK, while the Wharfside scheme is set to take decades to deliver in full.

Commercial spaces, eateries, hotels and offices are also included in the proposals.

The MDC said it had received 105 responses to its public consultation, with residents, businesses and community groups all taking part.

But some of the issues raised were outside of the scope of the exercise as they related to existing issues, the MDC heard at Tuesday's meeting.

Town hall bosses said that while any major change always came with an element of "nervousness", the response had been "very much supportive" with a recognition that the area was "ready for change".

The consultation also flagged competing visions among the community for how the development should take shape.

Some said they believed more homes could fit into the area, while others wanted the proposals to be scaled down with fewer high rises and more family homes.

Conflicting opinions were also submitted regarding the council's approach to "active travel" over private vehicles, the inclusion of a large public park in the plans, and proposals for a bridge link at Avondale Road.

The MDC has promised to continue consulting with the local community, businesses and other stakeholders throughout the regeneration project.

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