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In recent weeks there has been very little news to communicate whilst, firstly we waited for the outcome of the judicial review application and secondly whilst commercial negotiations continued between Firoz Kassam and Taylor Woodrow. These negotiations related not only to the restarting of the stadium development itself but also the CVA and Taylor Woodrow's option to purchase The Manor site for residential development.
There have been significant events in relation to both of these issues and we are now entering an important period which will determine the fate of not only the new stadium but also the future of the club and even the City Council. We plan to issue regular updates to the situation as we see it on this site in order to keep as many supporters informed as possible. A new edition of FOULMouth will be produced for distribution at the next home game (Stoke City on 4th December) to bring all supporters up to date.
As many will already know disgruntled developer, Nick Pentith, who failed to gain planning permission for a leisure development at Oxpens Road after a public inquiry last year joined with the Oxpens land owners, Rail Property Ltd. to seek a Judicial Review of Oxford City Council's decision to grant planning permission for a multiplex cinema at Minchery Farm and the decision of John Prescott not to intervene in this matter.
Earlier this month came the very welcome news that the judge hearing the application had decided there were no grounds for a judicial review and refused the application. As usual celebrations (such as they were) were short lived. On the 10 day deadline we heard that Pentith/Rail Property had reapplied for a JR against the City Council's decision (effectively appealing the earlier decision) but had dropped the action against John Prescott.
In the meantime FOUL had written to Rail Property, John Prescott, British Railways Board (who control Rail Property for the Government) and all the local Oxfordshire MPs to protest at the ridiculous situation whereby one part of John Prescott's department (the still nationalised British Railways Board) was seeking a legal challenge to the decision of another part of the same department (Planning section of DETR).
It eventually became apparent that this new application for a JR was going to take a lot longer than the first application because it would now require a full court hearing. The earliest date for this could be March and it is possible that it could be as late as next July!
We were aware that the initial JR decision had mean the City Council had not pushed ahead with the land deal with Firoz Kassam at Minchery Farm but as this was decided in a matter of weeks it was not seen as a major issue. If the City Council were to stick to this position in light of the changed circumstances then we believe this could call into question not only the restart of the stadium but also the CVA and the future survival of Oxford United. FOUL was therefore very pleased to hear Cllr. Carole Roberts (vice chair of Strategy & Resources) on Thames Valley FM state that the new JR application would not hold up the land deal. Further encouragement came yesterday (18/11) when the leader of the City Council, John Tanner was extensively quoted in the Oxford Mail saying much the same thing.
FOUL had already arranged a meeting with John Tanner for that same evening and we used the opportunity to impress upon him our very real concerns that further delays to the completion of the land deal would have a serious impact on the club's move to Minchery Farm and future survival. There appears to be confusion over what the official City Council position is on this and the possibility that Council officers responsible for negotiating and completing the deal may well have a different view to that of John Tanner and other councillors. Tanner agreed to clarify the situation to us today (Friday 19/11). As soon as we hear the outcome of this something will be posted on this site.
FOUL met with Firoz Kassam after the home game against Bury on Saturday evening. Kassam explained to us that until the land deal with the council was signed he was not able to restart work on the stadium and complete the CVA with the unsecured creditors. The largest of which is Taylor Woodrow. He told us that he has already run up a legal bill in relation to this of over £600,000 and was very concerned that the City Council were dragging their feet and the central reason for the delay.
Kassam also revealed that the negotiations with Taylor Woodrow to agree on a price for completing the stadium and the amount they would pay for the Manor site had run into difficulties. Because of their insistence on either more money for the stadium or a lower price for the Manor a number of cut backs had been considered in the stadium design and specification. Even with these changes he was still unable to agree with Taylor Woodrow and therefore has now reached a settlement regarding their outstanding debt under the CVA and their option to purchase the Manor. He explained how he could only go ahead and make this payment once the land deal with the council was completed but once the deal was done there only remain issues on which he was prepared to take a commercial risk and none of these would stand in the way of a restart at Minchery Farm.
Three new contractors have been asked to tender on a fixed price contract basis to complete the three sides of the stadium. They have been asked to do this based on the original specification and any changes that were required to fall within Taylor Woodrow's budget are now back in the plans. Kassam expected to have these tenders in front of him by today (Friday).
FOUL explained that there had been a rumour circulating recently that there were plans to move the conference centre out of the stadium into the planned hotel next to the stadium. Kassam said there was absolutely no truth in this rumour and the conference centre was still very much part of the stadium plan. He further explained that it would not be possible to do this without renegotiating the agreement with the City Council and the only change he envisaged there was the removal of Taylor Woodrow as the specified developer.
We explained that it was very important for him to keep supporters informed on the stadium progress and also on the footballing side of things. Kassam agreed to hold an open meeting to explain the situation and answer supporters questions within the next few weeks and said he would talk to others in the club to arrange this.
Kassam also confirmed, as announced at the recent AGM, that he has obtained a long term lease for The Priory and surrounding land next to the stadium and he intended this to be used as the new supporters social club. This would have the added advantage of providing additional road frontage to the leisure development.
We are particularly concerned at the time it is taking for Oxford City Council to deliver and sign the contract for the land deal which has already been agreed in principal by the last full Council meeting. Whilst we can understand the delay and confusion that was caused by the initial Judicial Review application we believe it is now time for their actions to match what has been said in public and that they should complete the deal within a matter of days.
We also find it hard to understand why it has taken them so long to reach agreement with Thames Water to compensate them for the breach of the covenant on the Minchery Farm land. We understand that by far the biggest issue here is in relation to land that has nothing to do with the stadium, hotel or leisure sites. We believe that they are now very close to a settlement but should have had this completed many weeks ago.
There is also the matter of a legal claim by Les Wells, a land owner adjacent to the stadium site, who contends that he has a right of way across the stadium site. The City Council tell us that they are confident that this can be settled quickly but again the question has to be asked; Why has it taken so long to resolve this when they have known about it for months?
FOUL has praised John Tanner and the council in the past for their positive attitude towards the football club and for playing their part in helping the club relocate to Minchery Farm but this has now dragged on long enough. Its time to get things moving. Sign the deal so Oxford United can start the new Millennium with a real prospect of surviving and prospering for another hundred years.
