tom_widdows

I would rather the club had one base which the players could travel to and not then have to be bussed about (Less they have to move about the less likely they are to be injured in coach accidents), which they are trying to do but for some reason you seem to be against this even though the masterplan has '5 pitches and a pavilion' The average occupancy of a car is a lovely stat to throw about and what it shows is the over reliance modern day society has placed on them. The guidelines for building design, master-planning etc have lots of different ratios but if they scrapped them in favour of statistics taken based on a certain number of people, in a certain environment at a certain time then what you would end up with is the following -Small 1 (max 2) bedroom houses with 2 parking spaces as the Average household in Scotland is 2 people but they both own cars. - Large Warehouses with expansive delivery bays as online shopping is seemingly on the verge of replacing the traditional high street or retail park - Sports facilities being shut down as sports participation is declining. Basically a Conservative party wet dream. A wise man once said 'statistics are like mini-skirts, they look great but hide what is truley important' Is your stance in this debate to be 'everything is fine, it has been for decades, so improvement/ change is not required'?

There are lots of things which are the 'case all over the world' Lack of Education, Lack of Clean Drinking water, Lack of a safe place to live. There are charities and aid groups working round the clock to try and resolve this but should they stop because they are fighting against arguably the norm for more than half the planet? Actually implying the club should take a half-assed approach to providing facilities for their prized assets is one of the most depressing thing I've read on a Dons fans message board. It will be even more depressing if it actually came form someone who has a vested emotional interest in them IE a fan.

Just want to chuck in that the Standard parking requirement for stadia is Scotland (as adopted by ACC and numerous other councils) is 1 space per 15 seats + a transport assessment be it city centre, inner city, or the outskirts 20000 seat stadium therefore is only obliged to provide 1,334 parking spaces. Current proposal provides 1,598 which is 1 space per 12.5 seats. 5 people per car = 7,990 fans If parking capacity using other nearby facilities saw that increased to 3000 that would be 1 space per 7. up to 15,000 fans (more if people carriers are used) 92 coach parking spaces at 42-75 seats each = 3,864 - 6,900 fans Then you add in the people using public transport, being dropped off, cycling, or walking.

The Purpose of a Park & Ride system as I understand it is to allow people travelling from further afield to leave their car close to a city and travel the last few miles by bus/ train etc. It is not designed for people living next door to them to use as a car-park. I don't know how many people actually commute to the city using the A944 but it always seemed bizarre to me that they chose to build Park & Rides there when it seemed to me they should be built off the A90 & A96 (Can't comment on the Road to Peterhead but is it fair to call Portlethen a Park & Ride?) Perhaps it was some sort of incredible foresight by the Local Councils that someday there might be a large entertainment complex of some sort built in the area There is also the stigma attached to bus travel in so many Western nations, a snobbery if you will that it is for the poor or the elderly and using it is some sort of admission that you are 'not as good as the rest of us'. Kick that into touch and you save yourself a fortune. For me an example of a good bus network is Edinburgh (I only visit though so I will concede to any locals who have more experience) and I do have to wonder if making the centre extremely car-unfriendly has had something to do with that. ACC on the other hand never seem to follow through with their plans to encourage public transport/ pedestrians/ Cyclists. Continuing to build/ extend shopping malls with large car-parks rather than looking at re-opening railway stations at say Cove, Kittybrewster, Bucksburn etc shows where the city is headed.

. An extremely high sand content requiring some very careful thought by structural engineers to ensure the stands would not sink, not just under their own mass but also the additional weight of up to 20,000 moving objects. The stadium would essentially need to become a giant 'raft' I believe the RDS cost circa £4.5million back in 1992/93 and I reckon a fair chunk of that was to get the foundations right. The golf course/ driving range etc are also close to sea level with the beach concourse acting as a flood barrier. A few years back the club had to dig up the entire pitch and fix the drainage as there were issues with the existing run being affected by the tides. The closer you get to the sea the more complicated the ground and foul drainage will become as do installing new services such as power, water, telephone etc. Re-routing an existing road is one thing. Re-routing and upgrading to the required standard for a 20000 seat stadium is another. Anyway I've seen a few mentions of the Council offering alternative sites. If this is to continue I want to see actual evidence particularly given the dodgy goings on that ACC have been accused of in terms of land sales over the last 20 years.

https://goo.gl/maps/qmudFHAkENP2 Oxford United

If this new stadium scenario ends up being anything like the bullshit Bristol City & Bristol Rovers have been through then the club may as well shut themselves down. But a quick Summary Ashton Gate Redevelopment cost is £45million+ Stadium boundary is clear of all primary streets so fans disperse onto private land/ carparks. City actually has space to build on. Approx 50% of the land immediately around it is relatively new commercial property none of which are accessed via any of the land surrounding the stadium. Retail park owners don't tend to kick up a fuss about having 20000 plus people showing up on their doorsteps especially when its an existing situation. Residential property around the stadium is either old terraced housing separated from the stadium boundary by back gardens (on one side the rear gardens are quite large too) or old tower blocks which I hazard a bet will be inline for demolition soon. Stadium redevelopment will not affect their existing accesses/ servicing so provided Bristol City don't screw up the 'daylighting' issues there is little reason for objection. Compare the aerial photos of both stadiums (Old Ashton Gate & Existing Pittodrie)

Another Arab defeat. Record for last 10 games is now 6 points from a possible 30 with 3 straight defeats. Should Morton turnover Falkirk tonight they will 7 points behind hibs with a game in hand.

Depends if they still have that lady who suggested they scrap the bypass in favour of a tunnel under the City as it would reduce the chances of the road being blocked by snow.

It was something the previous YES campaign failed to fully address. The key to the next referendum is not to ride on the apparent wave of pro independence but to make serious efforts to convince people that whilst change will initially be hard it will be good in the long term. In the case of the central belt bias suggestion I think its along these lines 'well we are being let down by both London & Edinburgh at the moment but at least we know where we stand. Take London out of the equation and we will just be let down by Edinburgh but we don't have a clue about X,Y&Z....lets just stay put. As I saw it the NO campaign in 2014 were not made to work hard enough as they had the away goals advantage that is there are so many people for which change and uncertainty are scarey they will be more inclined to keep the status quo. The undecideds are therefore easier to influence with 'project' fear'. I hope that should it come around the YES camp tone down the populist US presidential style effort, keep celebrity endorsements to a minimum and come out with genuine honest proposals along the lines of: 'Look this is our proposal for x Y & Z. We have researched this and we think this is a viable option but should it not work we have contingency plans to make sure we don't fall off the cliff. Yes it will be hard, of course it will be, we are taking control of everything and it will take time to work out the bugs but we are confident your life and future generations lives will be better as a consequence.' I was pleased to hear an interview with one of the team hired to work out potential economic models for an independent Scotland in which he admitted the 2014 plan was a tad optimistic and they were now basing their plans on any oil income being a bonus rather than a key element. The more uncertainty you can remove the better your case Get the ball rolling now (if indeed it has not been running since September 2014) while Mrs May is sounding off and the Section 30 is still to be agreed.

The Duelling of the A9 is a good thing but once you get past Inverness there are quite significant issues. Take Wester Ross for example where younger populations are on a serious decline. Both Ullapool High School & Gairloch High School are set to drop to 4.5day weeks and there are so many houses for sale yet no one is buying as there is no work. Ludicrously the prices aren't dropping either. The Locals I know are fed up with Visit Scotland boasting about the North Coast 500 yet covering up that tourist income has actually declined whilst traffic has increased. Only the Petrol stations have seen a rise in income as people now take their camper-vans rather than chose to stay in hotels & B&Bs or drive the whole thing in 2-3 days rather than hanging around for a week like they used to. many of them make sure they stock up in the Inverness tesco before they cross the Kessock Bridge rather than rely on the small local stores or restuarants. BEAR are responsible for the A9 section of the NC500 so it gets maintained however the rest of it falls into the remit of Highland Council so if you are planning on driving from say Loch Carron to Ullapool you'd better invest in a serious 4x4. The 10 year freeze on Council tax certainly hasn't helped and the former SNP led coaltion council did themselves no favours with their attempts to shut down rural services for minimal savings which eventually resulted in the Independents taking control when the Lib Dems quit. You can build all the Hydro plants & wind farms you like in the Highlands but with technological improvements they bring minimal employment to the areas and if the tourist trade continues to decline the recent resurgence of the term 'Highland Clearances' may become a reality For the YES campaign to get a real foothold in the highlands (not just Inverness) they have to start showing that an independent Scottish Government is actually interested in the people that live and work there rather than the tourists who turn up for the weekend. This is however probably moot point as the Highlands, Eileen Star, Orkney & Shetland only accounted for 6% of the total votes cast in the 2014 referendum so it I suspect it is unlikely either side of the campaign will really be too concerned about what they think.

In other news, Dundee's Wee team continued their mid season collapse with a 3-2 defeat to St Mirren Their current record is 9 points from a possible 30

Prince Albert's showbiz Eleven 3-1 Arab's play thing Radio 5's commentary team were so far up Man City's ass when they got it back to 2-1 so the 'silence' 6 mins later was very satisfying Athletico Madrid Real Madrid Barcelona Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund Monaco Juventus Leicestery City

Improved brakes and tyres have made a difference however they do not always improve the person controlling them. 'Forgetting' to use mirrors, undertaking, indicators only used when illegally parked, forgetting or in some worrying cases outright refusing to put on headlights in bad weather conditions, the obsession with using mobile phones 24hrs a day which I fear is going to get even worse now they are fitting WIFI in cars, ignoring one way street signs, thinking a space-saver wheel is as good as a regular wheel. Essentially forgetting you have a responsibility to yourself and those around you. Cars keep evolving but drivers seem to be going in the opposite direction.

Soon as suarez dived all I could hear was Brian Clough's speech to the Leeds United players. Either way Paris SG much like Man City seem to be destined to be rich as fuck but win very little outside of their own league.

Certainly hope so. Would be nice to see Suarez getting a Red Card too.

I cannot stand either team but I really hope PSG snatch an injury time goal that shafts Barcelona. I'm still not decided on the penalty especially given the Ref had a better view than his assistant and didn't give it

basically means the project has to be determined by Committee rather than the designated Planning Officer. Given the size of the development that was pretty much going to happen anyway. Even if it had been completely one sided (for or against) that would only have a slight bearing on the final decision. There is an art to objecting to/ Supporting a planning application and I reckon more than 50% of those comments are in the bin already.

Or perhaps fixed to guarantee a 6th OF match?

Perhaps the removal of cash turnstiles is in preparation for moving to a new stadium out of town? Makes sense to me that being 7 miles away from the centre will reduce the number of people who whilst in town suddenly think 'ah fuck it lets go to the game'. There is also the Big brother element in that they buying in advance online means they have details of the ticket holders in case of emergency or trouble Personally I still think the club are denying themselves a fairly decent revenue stream (500 walk ups on the day = £10K-ish plus extras such as food/ drink/ merchandise etc) but I'm not the one having to keep the lights on every week.

I believe the original plan was for St Nicholas House (old council building) was that it be a modernist glazed tower similar to the Skyscrapers in Chicago, New York and the like, however someone (client, planners etc) declared it would not be in keeping with the City's Granite Architecture and/or the other towers (high rise flats at the Gallowgate & Justice Street) so they went with the Brutalist Concrete instead.

It should not be forgotten that the UTG debacle killed off the new Peacock visual arts gallery which was to be built into the side of the gardens It already had planning permission and 90% of the funding had been obtained when UTG kicked off.

Apparently they have already used up their loan quota (did that exist in Romanov's day?) so they only way to get a keeper was to find a free agent. Something there doesn't tend to be a lot of 4 weeks after a transfer window and with Kirkcaldy being the prize

Queen's park are still the owner's of Hampden so all rent etc will need to be negotiated with them.

BT sport apparently