Newbury Football Club given two-year reprieve
Dramatic U-turn by West Berkshire Council
NEWBURY Football Club have been given a two-year reprieve after a dramatic U-turn by West Berkshire Council, it has been confirmed.
Just a month before the doors at the club’s Faraday Road Stadium were due to be locked for good, negotiations have meant that the lease on the ground, which was due to be terminated in June, will now run until 2018.
Last year, West Berkshire Council told the club they would have to find another home after deciding to activate a break clause in the lease that initially had actually been due to run until 2018.
The council sees the regeneration of the London Road Industrial Estate, which houses the Faraday Road ground, as a priority and has already entered into a deal with developer St Modwen to oversee the project.
However, with no firm date set on when work will begin and with legal wranglings ongoing with developer FDL over the regeneration project, questions were asked whether the club had been told to vacate the ground prematurely.
Speaking on behalf of the Newbury Community Football Group, Lee McDougall said that the group was pleased with the negotiations, but had been left frustrated at being essentially put back to square one.
He said: “We were initially offered a one-year extension with a break clause at Christmas, but we argued that that didn’t really help the club’s plan.
“We’re pleased they listened and offered two years but that essentially puts us right back to where we were before they asked us to leave.
“While we now have the brief respite, we would like to continue to work with West Berkshire Council to develop a long-term strategy for an integrated football and sporting facility for Newbury and to ensure that its obligations to protect the ground under its own policies are met.”
West Berkshire councillor for Victoria ward, James Fredrickson said that the council was delighted that an agreement had been reached.
However, when asked if the council had any regrets about not having had these discuss- ions before telling the club to find a new home, he said: “Alan Law last year committed to reviewing how long the football club would be there, we stuck to that commitment and the negotiations are part of that.
“We will now continue to work with the club over the longer time to explore further options.”
The council’s U-turn is the latest twist in a series of turns linked to the regeneration of the London Road Industrial Development, which has seen developer FDL gain planning permission following an appeal over the council’s rejection of its plans – which also heard how council officers had seemingly misled councillors on their decision.
West Berkshire Council is also currently locked in a legal battle with FDL over the legality of its agreement with developer St Modwen to oversee the project, which is expected to heard by a court in July.
