West Ham fan Kevin Hind has joined the London Stadium Safety Advisory Board after a long campaign for representation.
Over the last 9 years, the trust has been campaigning to have supporter representation on the Newham SAG. Initially, Newham council would not even publish the minutes of the meetings, but they reluctantly agreed when it was shown that other councils publish minutes of their SAG meetings.
The West Ham United Supporters Trust rep attended the LS-SAG meeting on behalf of the West Ham Fan Advisory Board.
In this instance, for December’s meeting, the supporter representative was only allowed to attend the first part of the meeting, where specific safety-related items that had been raised by supporter groups were discussed. As this was the first meeting where a supporter was able to sit on the SAG, it was agreed to leave on the understanding that the supporter rep would be able to attend more of the subsequent meetings as trust and confidence are established.
Hind requested improved comms and clearer explanations regarding safety measures, particularly Stop and Hold boards. They suggested that comms be put in the matchday program
by the club?
LS185 provided the background history on the Stop and Go system, originally introduced during the Olympics to manage egress and guide crowds safely onto train platforms. Stratford station and regional stations have a total of 16 platforms. The egress control room monitors crowd movement, and when the platforms are full, the station call the control room instructing that crowds be temporarily held to allow clearance before admitting more people for safety reasons. As fans exit the stadium, majority use Bridge 1 and Bridge 5, which converge at the junction of Montfichet and Westfield, Stop and Hold measures are applied followed by pulsing the crowd to ensure safe access to the station platforms prevent overcrowding. Previously, information was published on the London Stadium and West Ham United websites.
LS185 offered to arrange a walk-through of the route for fan group reps and allow one or two members access to observe egress operations in SOR control room. This would provide full understanding of the safety requirements for the stop and hold which forms part of the Councils Safety Certificate. Any changes to these arrangements would require a formal application and review by the Council. Egress plans must be reassessed whenever new developments occur
The West Ham LS SAG meets about 4 to 6 times a year, and the minutes are published at:
https://www.newham.gov.uk/business-licensing-regulation/safety-sports-grounds