The ball’s in your court
Reporter: Richard Hooton
Date published: 10 February 2011
Special report on Latics stadium fiasco
AN MP has called on Oldham Council chief executive Charlie Parker to take responsibility for the Latics fiasco.
Ashton MP David Heyes, whose constituency includes Failsworth, has written to the council boss after the Charity Commission refused to swap council land next to Failsworth Lower Memorial Park to make way for a new £20 million stadium for Oldham Athletic.
He wrote: “It is clearly a damning indictment of the handling of this matter by the council, including councillors having conflicts of interest, seriously flawed consultation processes, equally flawed decision making processes and the suggestion that the entire approach was based on a predetermined view that the land would definitely be sold.
“In my view, my constituents in Failsworth have been badly let down by Oldham Council and by you as its chief officer.”
The Labour MP told the Chronicle that the football club and its fans have also been treated disgracefully by allowing them to believe for over a year that purchasing the Failsworth site was a foregone conclusion. He added: “This could be the end of Oldham Athletic playing in Oldham. This would clearly be a tragic outcome.”
Mr Heyes said when the matter first came to light he wrote to the commission to tell them how much the people of Failsworth valued the piece of open land and many saw it as a testament to the bravery of members of their own family who have died during wars.
He told the commission that the land should be deemed to be held in trust and going against that would be acting against the public interest.
Mr Heyes said: “The Charity Commission has clearly seen through the sham consultation and is very critical of the whole process. It seems to me that the council’s current administration really wanted to see the sale of this land go ahead.
“However, it is the responsibility of the chief executive to ensure that the processes are robust and that advice to members is accurate and comprehensive. Clearly that was not the case here.
“I never felt that the Failsworth site was suitable for Oldham Athletic to relocate to and have been clear on this point throughout.”
He urged the council not to appeal the decision, saying it would not be a reasonable use of council resources during difficult financial times.
He added in his letter: “It is hoped that the council has learned some lessons from the Vance Miller case and that we will not see futile actions in an attempt to defend the indefensible.
“Nor should there be any scapegoating of relatively junior officers.”
COUNCIL’S RESPONSE
An Oldham Council spokesman said: “We have been shown a copy of a letter from David Heyes MP to Charlie Parker.
“This letter has not yet been received by Mr Parker. This is disappointing as it is not our normal way of doing business to be asked to respond to communications — via a third party (the Press) — which we have not yet received.
“It is clear that Mr Heyes has a personal view about the Charity Commission’s recent ruling — much of which is at odds with the legal advice we are currently receiving.
“When Mr Parker finally receives this letter he will, of course, respond. However, at this stage we believe it is more appropriate that we are focussed on discussions — and sharing information with council members and Oldham Athletic — rather than being drawn into a public debate with Mr Heyes.”
