FUMING residents who live next to a major stadium have complained that they can’t use their gardens on matchdays and have to buy litter pickers to clean streets themselves.
Disgruntled locals living near to Coventry’s 40,000 capacity CBS Arena have said that living next to a venue used for football and concerts can be challenging.
Homeowners claim they are battling thoughtless parking, piles of rubbish, late night horn honking and street brawls.
Truck driver Dave Evans, 57, who lives on Hen Lane within a couple of kicks of the Arena, said he’d bought himself a litter picker off Amazon because he just couldn’t stand the mess.
He said: “Honestly, it really does affect your life and not in a good way.
“I had to turn my front garden into parking because on match days I couldn’t park anywhere near to my house.
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“And the litter is something else. The Council have two little bins between our house and the stadium and they are overflowing very quickly.
“The joke is that the Council are quick to empty an empty bin but after events you might not see them for two weeks. I ended up buying a litter picker off Amazon and doing it myself. “
Dave continued: “We leave our own bins open and push them to the front when there’s a match or a concert in the hope that people will use them. It can be a pain.
“The concerts are a lot worse than the matches. People are milling around from 9am and they end much later.”
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Tracy Greenhill, 56, who lives with severe osteoporosis, is on the same street and said visitors were “oblivious” to locals’ pain.
She said: “Before any match, thousands of them walk down this road and they are in their own zone, totally oblivious to the fact people actually live here.
“I have tried to walk my dog up the road to the shops and found myself being pushed against garden walls because none of them step aside.
“And you get a lot of goading of opposition fans which always involves obscene language. It is not something you want kids hearing.
” I have had people parking in my disabled bay and get away with it because there is not proper enforcement.”
Since its opening in 2005, the Coventry Building Society Arena (CBS), which includes a hotel, shopping centre, exhibition hall and casino, has had a mixed existence.
Built as a replacement home ground for Coventry City, a rental dispute in 2013 led to the club having a succession of temporary homes and Wasps Rugby Club moving in.
Now, both clubs use it as their home venue and the concerts have never stopped.
There are two little bins between the houses and stadiums which overflow quickly. I bought a litter picker off Amazon and did it myself.”
Dave Evans, 57
And those off for a good time can often be at their most thoughtless, especially when time is running out and they haven’t booked a parking spot.
Aman Mundian, 32, a father of two who works in retail, said: “It can be a problem if you need to get somewhere and there’s a match on or concert because there is traffic everywhere.
“I have had people park right in front of the house, blocking us in, and pointing at a tiny piece of curb as though that gives them the right to park there. Some people just don’t think.”
Clare Jones, 56, who has lived in the area all her life bemoaned how it had taken away the open space.
She said: “I must say I don’t see so many traffic wardens down here as I used to. It seems the Council take what they can and give back as little as possible.”
However, some residents enjoy being a short walk from their local team’s ground.
And they occasionally get to hear some of music’s biggest names for free.
John Jinks, 72, a Coventry City season ticket holder, said: “This is the perfect place to live.
“A 10 minute walk to the ground . I absolutely love it.”
Steve, 57, a former hotel manager, said: “I like living here because you get free music. You don’t even have to sit outside, the noise travels in.
“I never imagined sitting at home hearing a Springsteen concert live but now I have.”
And Kramchand Luchman, 63, said: “The only downside for me is the extreme traffic that comes to the area and as far as I know there are no restrictions on this particular Glaisdale Avenue.
“But I like to see people enjoying themselves. I feel happy for them. They are having a drink, enjoying themselves, watching football, listening to music, and that is the culture of this country. It is great to see it happening outside your door.”
Caretaker Daniel Sabin, 43, added: “It is what it is. If you live near a football ground, get your shopping done early on a Saturday and either go to the game or stay in your house.
“For me, the concerts are much worse than the matches – more mess by far.”
David Green, 40, said he rented out the two parking spaces outside his semi-detached home for £15 a-time.
‘NIGHTMARE’
Sam Bowen, 35, said: “I was ticketed twice parked outside my own house. I didn’t know about having to phone up and register your car with them.
“In general I think it has boosted the area and I do like to hear the crowd roar for a goal or open the door and listen to the concerts.”
But a 49-year-old a mother-of one who can remember the days before the stadium arrived, strongly disagrees.
“It has turned this quiet road into a nightmare. When they built it, orange dust covered everything and no-one took any notice and that was a sign of things to come.
“The concerts are ridiculous for the noise and mess. When Harry Styles was here I saw girls fighting on the streets and Bon Jovi were a nightmare too with loads of bikers turning up.
“But the football fighting is the worst. It can be savage. I’ve seen grown men out with their children punching one another on the nose.
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“I have been here 20 years and there is no policing. You don’t see a warden and we who live here are just forgotten about.”
Coventry City F.C and Coventry Council have been contacted for comment.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
