Cray Wanderers chairman Gary Hillman bids for Orpington site

CRAY WANDERERS chairman Gary Hillman has announced today that he is looking at a new site in Orpington to build a new stadium for the club.



Mr Hillman, who became club’s chairman in 1995, has made an offer on The Manorfields Care Home that Bromley council want to sell and also adjacent land/school that they own in Avalon Road, Orpington BR6 9BE.

The purpose of making this offer to redevelop the Manorfields site and build a new football ground to secure a permanent home for the club.

Cray Wanderers were founded in 1860 and are the Second Oldest Football Club in the World.

Since losing their home at Grassmeade in Chelsfield Lane in 1972 the Wands have been in exile from their territory of Orpington and the Crays. 

They currently play home matches at Bromley’s Hayes Lane ground.

In 2012 Mr Hillman applied for planning permission to build a new football stadium for the Wands at Sandy Lane in St Pauls Cray.

However, that application was refused by Bromley council’s planning committee last September, despite more than 1,000 letters of support from local residents.

Regarding the Manorfields site, Mr Hillman stated in a statement on the club’s official website that he hopes that this bid to the London Borough of Bromley will be successful but, failing that, Cray Wanderers will make another planning application for the Sandy Lane site.

Any further application will comprise a smaller scale minimum acceptable size stadium and the smallest possible quantum of enabling development (housing) needed to support the scheme financially.

Mr Hillman said: “I have been telling Bromley council for the last ten years how much bringing Cray Wanderers back home would benefit the community and hopefully now they have seen the massive proven success of Dartford FC and Maidstone United FC new grounds in their home town centres, we can now make this happen for Cray Wanderers FC – The Second Oldest Football Club in the World.

“Our database to support our next planning application is constantly growing and we look forward to being included in the LB Bromley’s new Planning Development framework that we have made representations to and which will be issued soon.”

Visit Cray Wanderers’ website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/craywands