A meeting was held between the Club and the Trust, together with a representative of the OSC regarding issues in the East Stand.

The reasons for the increased security presence is a safety issue. Fans were seen to be migrating from other areas of the stand into E2 and E3 and therefore exceeding the capacity of those areas. There had also been issues, in these areas with fans reporting to the Club that they and their children were increasingly feeling intimidated. They had also received a number of complaints of injuries being sustained in these areas due to the overcrowding.

A visit by the Sports Ground Safety Authority had also noted these problems. Ultimately if these issues were not dealt with they have the authority to restrict ground capacity, or, in extreme circumstances,  close the ground.

The Club therefore has introduced checks to prevent the migration of fans and, after concerns were raised, acknowledged that stewarding has not always been up to the standards they would wish for. It has therefore introduced further steward training, with the aim to increase awareness of the skills required at a football stadium, as opposed to other venues.

We were assured these measures are under constant review and will be scaled back when deemed safe to do so. This has already been demonstrated by memberships and match by match tickets being back on sale in these areas.

The Trust fully support the club in matters of fan safety, and will continue to pass on fans concerns to the club.