Derek Nicholson from Prime Construction looks back at the history of the James Whatman Way site and plans for the new stadium...

Since Maidstone United was reformed out of the ashes of the former football league club some 17 years ago, the search for a new stadium site back in Maidstone has been a crucial step in regaining Maidstone's pride and status.

With the reductions in the armed forces generally, part of the land originally occupied by the Royal Engineers became available alongside the River Medway - just on the outskirts of town. Used as a drill ground for the last 200 years and recently as the army sports ground, an opportunity arose to lease, and eventually purchase, the site from the MOD.

Situated in the Medway floodplain the site is unsuitable for housing and industry, Maidstone Borough Council confirmed its suitability as a new home for Maidstone United FC by granting planning permission for a new football stadium in June 2004.

Citing a whole raft of regulations and conditions Maidstone United have gradually been discharging the conditions set by the local authority: testing the ground conditions, dealing with the various utilities and agencies; while carrying out detailed design work.

At the same time the chairman has been negotiating with the MOD and the Highways departments on legal matters and raising funds not only to pay for this investigative works and professional costs but also to start the construction works.

There are two phases to the stadium - first to comply with the Football Association (FA) requirements and open the stadium ready for use; and secondly to design the stadium so that future expansion, due to promotions and increased crowd capacity, can be achieved with as little abortive work as possible. For this reason modular construction has been used wherever possible.

Positioned on the floodplain the buildings have had to be raised to avoid damage but at the same time the floodwater can not be displaced elsewhere so the buildings have to be constructed in such a way to retain the capacity to store floodwater. At the same time it is necessary to harvest surface water runoff and rainwater on the site for reuse in toilets and watering.

Peak power requirements during the winter evening games has also necessitated the installation of a new electrical substation.

The existing site is narrow and has restrictions imposed by existing services and access requirements by the local authority. On the western edge of the site there is a water main which serves a large part of Maidstone. At the same time vehicular access needs to be retained for access to maintain the Millennium footbridge to Whatman Park.

To the north of the site the local authority want a strip of land retained for wildlife, and the continued use of a flood discharge basin immediately next to the river towpath.

To the east of the site is a steep embankment up to an access road, which runs parallel to the touch line. Here advantage has been taken of the embankment to construct the main seating stand, to accommodate 318 seats, eight media seats, two corporate/sponsor boxes and a directors' box. The stand is 1.5 metres above the pitch and provides excellent uninterrupted views of the pitch. Mindful of the Disability Discrimination Act, provision has been made for six wheelchair-bound spectators and carers with ramped access and uninterrupted views of the game.

Future extension of the stand can be made by extending it towards the north and south ends of the ground.

At the front of the stadium, the south end, spectator access has been provided, with a covered standing area. This end also provides changing areas for the players and officials, as well as storage for kit and a medical room. Situated behind and to one side of the spectators behind the goalmouth, there are moveable barriers to be opened by stewards when access to and from the pitch is required by players and officials and an extendable tunnel to provide a temporary barrier during this period before and after each half of the match.

In the southwest corner of the site there is a club house which can accommodate up to 390 supporters on matchdays (190 if seated) and for other events such as the four national rowing competitions held on the River Medway annually by the Invicta Rowing Club, immediately adjacent to the entrance of the stadium.

Car parking at the front of the site can accommodate three coaches, 73 cars and six motorcycles. Overflow car parking is available at the nearby Invicta House car park (pay and display) and provision has been made to introduce Park and Ride, using the local council facility less than three miles away.

Lighting the pitch has been a particular problem. Because of the narrow nature of the site and the restrictions on the west side of the ground it has not been possible to provide lighting along the sides of the pitch. Despite these restrictions lighting engineers have designed a system to provide lighting to Football League 1 and 2 levels.

The stadium plans have been updated to accommodate the increased FA requirements for the Ryman Premier, which Maidstone United were promoted to at the start of the 2007/08 season. With the current agreed capacity of 3,000 further development of the ground and stands can be made (phase 2) by extending the stands on the north and east sides of the ground. The south end can also be comprehensively redeveloped to provide a substantial stand behind the goal mouth incorporating player and officials facilities. Plans are also in place for separate away team supporters' access (using the north end of the stadium, should the need arise.