City Could Face Margate Blow
By Ed B January 20 2004
City’s hopes of the title could take yet another blow, if Margate were to go out of business. City have picked up six points and seven goals against Margate this season, whereas Hereford have picked up three and are yet to play Margate a second time.
City’s hopes of the title could take yet another blow, if Margate were to go out of business. City have picked up six points and seven goals against Margate this season, whereas Hereford have picked up three and are yet to play Margate a second time.
Margate are currently being fined £5,000 by the conference for every game they play at Dover, and have had planning permission for their new ground rejected.
Margate’s statement on the matter reads:
"The decision reached by the Cabinet of Thanet District Council yesterday evening to withdraw from negotiations to enter the proposed leases allowing the Football Club to progree its proposed development of Hartsdown Park was, as we understand, made solely on late information supplied to the Council by the Club relating to technical but fundamental issues surrounding the proposed funding of the scheme.
The Council officers were, until that time, of the view that the project should be allowed to go ahead and had made such a recommendation in their report to the members of the Council’s cabinet.
Thanet District Council, acting as the Club’s landlord and local authority, has continued throughout the drawn out negotiations that the Club has faced, to be wholly supportive to the objective of rebuilding the Club’s new stadium.
Whilst this most recent and fundamental set back is a major blow to the Club, its players, management, staff and supporters, it is not the end of the line.
The minutes recorded by the Cabinet’s decision at last night’s meeting confirms that Council officers are instructed to continue negotiations with the current lease holder (Margate Football Club), over its plans for redevelopment and/or reinstatement of the stadium project. The perspective funders to the project have today confirmed that the door remains wide open, if the Club can resolve the surrounding issues. The project team for the development yesterday submitted the revised application to the Council planning department, which included our proposed Medical Centre and the Club has further undertaken to submit its detailed application for the Commercial Development by the end of January 2004.
It is clear that the window of opportunity for the Club to resolve the outstanding issues is slowly disappearing but the Council have undertaken to remain in negotiation with us as long as our prospective funders remain at the negotiating table. We can only now make every effort to secure the opportunity, which the Club has consistently worked for over the last two years.
The Club moves into what could be the final period of its history and it does so with its Chairman having resigned. This will bring even more pressure for the people remaining to fight the cause. Those who are left are fully committed and will continue until the battle is won and the project underway.
In the meantime, the Club has re-signed Manny Omoyinmi on loan from Oxford United and he will leas the attack against Exeter on Saturday.
This is a time when everyone who loves our Club should be pulling together in the same direction and not attempting to undermine the work that everyone connected with the Stadium Project have dedicated themselves to."
If Margate were to go out of business, it looks likely that any points gained against them, would be deducted, leaving city level with Hereford, as opposed to three points clear.
City could also face another blow, as they look likely, alongside other conference teams, to have to play the legal costs for Exeter’s court case. Exeter won the first stage of the case, and now the conference is left with the legal costs.
Clubs have been warned to put £20,000 aside, which with the club already losing £65,000 a month could make life difficult for the blues.
Margate’s statement on the matter reads:
"The decision reached by the Cabinet of Thanet District Council yesterday evening to withdraw from negotiations to enter the proposed leases allowing the Football Club to progree its proposed development of Hartsdown Park was, as we understand, made solely on late information supplied to the Council by the Club relating to technical but fundamental issues surrounding the proposed funding of the scheme.
The Council officers were, until that time, of the view that the project should be allowed to go ahead and had made such a recommendation in their report to the members of the Council’s cabinet.
Thanet District Council, acting as the Club’s landlord and local authority, has continued throughout the drawn out negotiations that the Club has faced, to be wholly supportive to the objective of rebuilding the Club’s new stadium.
Whilst this most recent and fundamental set back is a major blow to the Club, its players, management, staff and supporters, it is not the end of the line.
The minutes recorded by the Cabinet’s decision at last night’s meeting confirms that Council officers are instructed to continue negotiations with the current lease holder (Margate Football Club), over its plans for redevelopment and/or reinstatement of the stadium project. The perspective funders to the project have today confirmed that the door remains wide open, if the Club can resolve the surrounding issues. The project team for the development yesterday submitted the revised application to the Council planning department, which included our proposed Medical Centre and the Club has further undertaken to submit its detailed application for the Commercial Development by the end of January 2004.
It is clear that the window of opportunity for the Club to resolve the outstanding issues is slowly disappearing but the Council have undertaken to remain in negotiation with us as long as our prospective funders remain at the negotiating table. We can only now make every effort to secure the opportunity, which the Club has consistently worked for over the last two years.
The Club moves into what could be the final period of its history and it does so with its Chairman having resigned. This will bring even more pressure for the people remaining to fight the cause. Those who are left are fully committed and will continue until the battle is won and the project underway.
In the meantime, the Club has re-signed Manny Omoyinmi on loan from Oxford United and he will leas the attack against Exeter on Saturday.
This is a time when everyone who loves our Club should be pulling together in the same direction and not attempting to undermine the work that everyone connected with the Stadium Project have dedicated themselves to."
If Margate were to go out of business, it looks likely that any points gained against them, would be deducted, leaving city level with Hereford, as opposed to three points clear.
City could also face another blow, as they look likely, alongside other conference teams, to have to play the legal costs for Exeter’s court case. Exeter won the first stage of the case, and now the conference is left with the legal costs.
Clubs have been warned to put £20,000 aside, which with the club already losing £65,000 a month could make life difficult for the blues.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
More Chester City headlines
Chester City latest threads
Chester City Poll
