Global Forum for Sports and Environment
Ashburton Grove - Arsenal's Environmental StadiumContinuing our series on issues relevant to the Global Forum for Sports and Environment, to be held in Tokyo in November 2003, we take a look at environmental measures incorporated into the new planned stadium for English Premiership soccer club, Arsenal. The North London club was hoping to move from its traditional home at Highbury, into a new 60,000 capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove in time for the start of the 2004/05 Premiership soccer season. According to a recent official statement by the club, that may not now be possible due to financial and other concerns, although plans are still moving ahead to make the move sometime thereafter. Initial planning requests were lodged in November 2000 and for Islington Council, it has involved the largest public consultation ever undertaken on a planning application in the borough. Literally thousands of local residents and groups have been able to give their views, which has resulted in over 100 amendments to the plans. Potential effects to the local environment, such as noise and light pollution that have been addressed on this site over the last few weeks, have a very real influence on the lives of local residents and such consultations give the people that know that area best a chance to voice concerns. The new site covers only 27 acres, compared to say the 100-acre Manchester United ground and reflects the fact that almost 70-percent of supporters rely on public transport, rather than their own cars, to reach the ground. This is the highest in the Premier League and from an environmental perspective means a greatly reduced impact from air pollution during games. Architects HOK Sport have incorporated numerous environmental features in the stadiums design and these include: 1.A passive and mixed mode ventilation system to minimize the use of air conditioning in the stadium. 2.Maximized use of daylight through the use of skylights and high levels of fenestration and photovoltaic solar power. 3.12,000m2 of green roofs, increasing thermal insulation and creating substantial biodiversity benefits. 4.All adjacent houses will be built to BREEAM Eco Homes standards, the internationally recognized standard for the building industry. Construction of the stadium and surround falls to Sir Robert McAlpine and their environmental features include: 1.Minimizing energy use by choosing, where practical, materials that are less energy intensive to manufacture. 2.Collecting and storing rainwater for reuse in irrigation and toilet flushing. 3.Reusing and recycling all demolition waste with an aim to reduce concrete and ferrous waste landfill by 70%. 4.A new waste-recycling center. Final approval for the project was received in February 2002 but the completion date still seems unsure. Once built however, the project should stand as an example of a modern stadium that was deigned and built with consideration to the environment as well as creating 3,500 jobs, over 1,000 new houses and investing 's 400M into the area..
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