Twickenham submits application to put on more concerts as part of £650m stadium upgrade plan

The Rugby Football Union has submitted a new premises licence in the first step of a £650m-plus plan to redevelop the home of England rugby union at Twickenham.

The RFU wants to revamp the ground, now renamed the Allianz stadium, under ambitious plans to improve transport links, reduce capacity to improve spectator comfort and stage up to 15 concerts a year – five times the stadium’s current permitted amount.

Stadium bosses hope that increasing the number of concerts held at the west London venue, the extra revenue will help bankroll the work.

In an update on its plans, stadium development director Alex Cohen said the licensing application sent in to Richmond council, which includes an increase in the number of major non-sporting events, “is the first step in our ambition to ensure Allianz Stadium remains a best-in-class, multi-events venue that stands as a source of pride for Twickenham and the wider area”.

Cohen added a planning application for upgrade work will “follow shortly”.

A host of consultants including project manager RLB, architect Populous and QS T&T Alinea have been formally confirmed as working on the masterplan to redevelop the ground.

Called the Stadium Masterplan Project, others working on the scheme include transport and civils consultant WSP, fire engineer Arup, planning consultant DP9, M&E engineer Griffiths Evans, landscape architect Planit and buildability consultant JDP London. Simply CDM is the principal designer.

The estimated cost of the work has been put at £663m with the RFU hoping to start after the 2027 Six Nations championship.

Twickenham had its last major building work carried out nearly 20 years ago when Mowlem, later bought by Carillion, completed the South Stand redevelopment to raise capacity from 75,000 to its current 82,000 in 2006.

But the RFU says many of the stands have not been upgraded since, adding that the ground lies empty for too much of the year.

Twickenham is currently allowed to put on three concerts a year, each with a capacity of 55,000 and wants to expand this to 15 a year with an 82,000 capacity. But it needs permission from the local council to do so.

By contrast, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, currently hosting a series of concerts by US singer Beyoncé, is allowed to hold 30 non-sporting events a year while the figure for Wembley is higher still at 32.

Under a timetable published for the work, Twickenham is hoping for a decision on planning and licensing consent, allowing it to increase the number of major non-sporting events, to be made by September this year.