Don Valley Stadium Demolition contractor Demex began the demolition on this date, estimating that the process would take approximately six months. The Liberal Democrat Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opposed the stadium's closure, claiming the city council aimed to prevent the Save Don Valley Stadium group from obtaining central government grants in order to develop a business plan that would keep the venue open. The UK Independence Party also expressed opposition to the stadium's closure and stated their intention to put together a campaign to save the stadium. UKIP general secretary and Sheffield Branch chairman Jonathan Arnott commented that "there
Don Valley Parkway City of Toronto withheld funding to the DVCA for land purchases. In April 1953, the Metropolitan Toronto (Metro) federation was approved and Fred Gardiner was named as its first chairman. Its mission from the start was to build the infrastructure needed to support the rapidly growing suburbs, whose governments could not afford the projects and often disagreed on joint projects. One of its first priorities was to build the Lakeshore Expressway, and its second road priority was an expressway through the Don River valley. Gardiner was a major proponent of building a highway through the valley, since his days in