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Land swap deal hope for new stadium
Reporter: DAWN MARSDEN
Date online: 11 March 2010
OLDHAM Council’s cabinet members will discuss a land swap deal with the Charity Commission as plans for a new Latics stadium gain momentum.
The club’s plans to move from Boundary Park were delayed after the council had to seek clarification from the commission about the legal status of land at the Lancaster Club, including the former Lower Memorial Park area, just off Broadway.
Cabinet will now consider a new officers’ report next Wednesday that asks members to approve a series of new recommendations.
Members will be asked to confirm that a new approach should now be made to the Charity Commission, formally requesting that this area of land be registered as a trust.
Alternative land options can then be identified — in consultation with local ward members — to find a new site that the Commission can have.
Councillor Mohib Uddin, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Legal officers are currently assessing the council’s titles in various parcels of land to ensure that they are not already held in trust, or have restrictions.
“If cabinet agrees to the recommendations in this report, it is next proposed that we hold a local consultation.
“The recent delays have been frustrating for all concerned. However, we remain fully committed to supporting Oldham Athletic in developing these proposals.
Comments
Fascinating. If the Lib Dems had thought clearly about it 10 years ago they'd have realised that Sportspark 2000 was a land swap deal. They needn't have scrapped it and Latics (and the Rugby) would have been playing in a new stadium for 7 or 8 years.
Can anyone explain the difference between Sports Park 2000 land swap proposals involving Clayton Playing Fields and Boundary Park, and the latest proposals? The first were opposed by the Lib Dems, while the latest plans are supported by them. Is anyone else just a little confused by the machinations of Oldham Council?
So now we know, the patients really are running the asylum
The Council, previously cockily confident that Failsworth Lower Memorial Park area was definitely NOT trusted land, now want to appeal to the Charity Commission to make it trusted after all. - What planet are these people on??
Why?- Because they couldn’t possibly admit to having made a 'arry 'alls of it when stupidly committing themselves to accommodating Latics in the first place ( & probably to avoid more embarrassing litigation)
if they're going to do this then we want a patch of like for like land and from the purse of latics. not ombc.
as usual, our council wasting our money for their own financial gains.
But it gets even better -they then want to “swap” by finding another piece land , presumably in Failsworth which, again presumably, would satisfy the various Committees chaired by Cllr Mc Mahon & John Crompton et al.
But Where do they find a piece of land in Failsworth which is large enough – approx 19 acres or 8 Hectares of, so called, “council land”(looking elsewhere would only add insult to injury wouldn’t it chairmen?)This doesn’t of course include the 11 or so acres(4.5 H)Lancaster site
It’s a fact that all wards in Oldham have pockets of green space, mainly protected for the benefits of the residents & just so the reader has a better idea of their area the figures are;Saddleworthe & Lees -8,000 H,Royton & Shaw, (the council leaders patch) – 1,256 H,the 7 wards around the town centre, - 600 H,Chadderton, - 160 H,Failsworth & Hollinwood, - 60(yes that’s sixty)H
Check it out on the councils website
And how are the council to explain to the Sec of State, their eagerness to disregard their own policies which state, categorically, their commitment to protecting, important & highly valued green open spaces by turning one of these into a brownfield site.??
I have it on very good Authority, - Regional Gov’t Office NW no less, that, for a project of this size, the council would be expected to call on the Sec of State for a ruling once the planning application process has run it’s course.
If the fact that they want to ruin the area with the least land isn’t sufficient to stop them , then the Sof S will.
Knowing the track record of OMBC of course (eg; Clayton playing Fields) their pigheadedness & lack of humility may, again, result in them pushing their luck so the answer would be quite simple. PUBLIC PRESSURE. A few hundred letters should do to start with.
Good point Pro-driver. The council are spending thousands of our taxes so that they can swap land about with the ultimate purpose of giving it to a professional club owned by millionaires, for what - peanuts. And all so the club can sell its own land. Time for the District Auditors I think.
No wonder the rich get richer.
Failsworth residents don't want the stadium. Boundary Park's neighbours must be happy with it where it is; otherwise they wouldn't be living there. Latics' supporters want it to stay where it is. Every effort should be made to make the existing stadium a success.
We wouldn't be in this situation if the Liberal Democrats hadn't stopped the club's proposals immediately that they took control of the council in 2000.
Watcher - simple answer - Sports Park 2000 was a scam. There was no "state of the art" stadium. They were going to build a modest stadium on Westwood park, and use superstores on Clayton to finance it. They were asset stripping the Trust because they couldn't build superstores on BP.
fragal seems to be working hard - blimey, what are we doing allowing these so called council leaders to play God with Failsworth's only decent green space? All we've got is 60 hectares of green land - far less that any other area of Oldham and they're trying to slice that away and find us odd bits of land here and there! Watch your gardens folks, they'll find some way of taking that next! I'll be watching - well done Fragal!
fragal is getting a bit confused! The land swap would involve around 11.75 acres, and Latics are seeking to use about 8.62 acres of the disputed land in addtition to the Lancaster Club site (which used to comprise of 21 acres).
ProDriver: according to the Council's report the actual costs implications of their recommendations are minimal.
Old_Mancunian: Sports Park 2000 was not a scam as I recall seeing plans for a 20,000 capacity stadium on Clayton Playing fields. All we got was a DIY store!
Watcher, figures and facts. The lancaster club land is approx 11.5 acres. deduct that from the 30 acres total & you are left with 18.5 acres.-- Whats your problem?
fragal: Once again you get your facts wrong. The 11.75 acres and 8.62 acres figures come from the recent Oldham Council report written by Mark Prestwich. The figure for the Lancaster Club comes from their own website. You seem very uncomfortable with facts fragal! No doubt this is Oldham Athletic's fault as well!!
Have Your Say
How much is the council spending on all this and more importantly why?
There's plenty of land at Boundary Park!!
By ProDriver @ 11/03/2010 12:45:16