I am getting good vibes out of my most recent correspondence and discussions with LB Bromley and I have a meeting with them next Friday 25 January. I will provide a further update for you afterwards.

My current priority is to ensure that finding a home for Cray Wanderers FC in the Crays can be included in the upcoming Draft Development Framework that is being drawn up by LB Bromley at the start of 2013.

I therefore urge all Cray Wanderers FC supporters and football fans living in LB Bromley to communicate with their local councillors, planning officers and their MP. Please remind them that Cray Wanderers FC is seeking their help to find a new home and to secure the club’s future beyond 2014 when the current ground-sharing arrangement with Bromley FC is due to expire. Please ask for their help and support in getting this project included in the very important Draft Development Framework document.

In the meantime, the January 2013 issue of the Invest Bromley magazine will contain the following article about Cray Wanderers FC that can also now be viewed at the Invest Bromley website via the link:

http://www.investbromley.com/news.html?id=3889&utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=InvestBromley&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The chairman of Cray Wanderers has vowed that the 152-year-old football club will not give up on its dream of developing a new permanent home, despite the rejection of its most-recent proposals.

Gary Hillman said he was keen to work with Bromley Council to refine plans for a new stadium for the club after plans for a mixed-use scheme with a 5,153-seat stadium were turned down in October.

The Ryman Premier Division side currently shares a ground with Bromley FC, but had sought to develop a new ‘sporting village’ with a gym, 25-metre swimming pool, commercial floorspace and housing at a site in Sandy Lane, Orpington.

Hillman said the scheme, drawn up in conjunction with local architects and town planners Pellings LLP would not only have provided Cray Wanderers FC with a permanent home but also delivered long-term economic and social benefits.

“The many hundreds of letters backing the application sent to Bromley Council demonstrate the level of public support for the stadium,” he said.

“We look forward to discussing the plans further with the council and hope to find a solution that will secure the future of the world’s second-oldest football club as well as regenerating the area with first-class sporting facilities being at the heart of it.”