315. The recommendations which follow are the minimum necessary to ensure that existing football grounds can for the present be safely used, based upon the evidence which I have heard at Sheffield and other information I have received. They complement the recommendations which Mr Justice Popplewell set out after his inquiry at Bradford.
316. Those which are asterisked should be carried out before the 1989/90 season starts. The rest should be started forthwith and completed as soon as possible.
Maximum Capacities for Terraces
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1. Where a viewing terrace is divided into pens or areas which are self-contained, the Safety Certificate
should specify the maximum number of spectators to be admitted to each such pen or area.
A pen or area is to be deemed "self-contained" notwithstanding that it has a gate or gates affording access to another pen or area and whether such gate or gates be open or shut.
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2. Each figure for maximum capacity should be assessed in accordance with Chapter 16 of the Green Guide ("the Green Guide figure") subject to the following qualifications:
(a)
in arriving at "the Green Guide figure", proper and realistic allowance must be made for all factors which should reduce the permissible density in accordance with the range of maximum figures specified in paragraphs 221 and 222 of the Green Guide;
(b)
after assessing "the Green Guide figure", a deduction of 15% should be made to improve the safety margin.
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3. Arrangements should be made:—
(a)
to limit the number of spectators entering each self-contained pen or area to the maximum capacity figure assessed in accordance with Recommendation 2 above either electronically, mechanically, by a ticketing arrangement, by counting or otherwise, and
(b)
to close off further access to such pen or area when its maximum capacity is about to be reached.
Filling and Monitoring Terraces
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4. There should be a written agreement between the club and the police setting out their respective responsibilities for crowd safety and control and in particular for the filling of each self-contained pen or other terraced area and the monitoring of spectators in each such pen or area to avoid overcrowding. Any variation of the agreement in respect of an individual match should be agreed in writing in advance.
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5. At each match, there should be on the perimeter track, for each self-contained pen or other terraced area, a steward (if the club is monitoring that area) or a police officer (if the police are monitoring it) whose sole duty is to check crowd conditions in that area for possible overcrowding or distress throughout the period the area is occupied by spectators. Whoever is so appointed should be in addition to any other steward or police presence. He should have ready access to the police officer authorised under Recommendation 9 below, and by radio to the control room.
Fences and Gates
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6. All police officers and stewards with duties in relation to the terraced areas and especially those with duties under Recommendation 5 above, should be fully briefed and trained with regard to the recognition of crowd densities, to the recognition of signs of distress and to crowd dynamics. Training should include demonstrations at the ground and photographs, designed to enable stewards and officers to recognise different crowd densities.
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7. All gates in radial or perimeter fences of pens or other self-contained areas should be painted in a different colour from the rest of the fence and marked "Emergency Exit".
