A detailed document supplied anonymously to Voice of The Valley and a variety of other Charlton sources today (May 31st) appears to prove that the club had the stadium site professionally assessed for redevelopment as residential accommodation early last year.

The report, which says it was commisisoned for Charlton Athletic Holdings Limited, sister company of Charlton Athletic Football Club, specifically refers to land "currently used as a car park for use by directors, corporate and fan members on match days and throughout the year. There are 250 car parking spaces, which are not all fully utilised..."

Pedder, a development consultancy based in Crystal Palace, concluded that a new two-bedroom flat in Floyd Road would attract a sale value of £325,000, while a three-bedroom flat on the site could fetch £495,000.

The document appears to be genuine although it does not include details of an actual development plan for the site. It is mostly concerned with the local context, including Greenwich Council's planning policies. 

It seems unlikely the council would allow the club to redevelop the car park for residential use without adequate replacement parking provision for fans and visitors, especially on matchdays. However, sale values applying to the car park would also be likely to apply to other parts of the stadium.

VOTV has previously revealed that chief operating office Tony Keohane visited Leyton Orient with a Dutch-speaking architect around the same time as the report is dated to look at how they have incorporated residential development into their stadium.

The leak appears to underpin the view that Duchatelet may in future look to sell off a substantial part of the ground - if not all of it - for residential development. However, it does not show how far any such plan has proceeded in the intervening period, if at all.

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