First of all can we thank all the supporters who helped out at last night’s successful protest. However we continue to be disappointed and frustrated by the misleading comments in the media by Councillor Hadland.
The most misleading one surrounds planning applications. NTFC needs significant retail enabling monies to expand the stadium and improve the facilities to the community as outlined to NBC back in 2002 by NTFC. It is hoped that this will be provided by the District Centre planned for the Sixfields area, as has been the case for Milton Keynes and Swansea to name but two, where their councils have had the vision and leadership to get these developments sorted. So we are still at stage 1, which is waiting for a decision from NBC about the preferred location of the District Centre. As supporters of NTFC and tax payers we hope this will be the lower plateau at Sixfields / new link road as any other location will see only private landowners benefiting and no benefit at all to the tax payer.
Planning application comes further down the line and there is no point NTFC spending a five figure sum to get planning approved for something they cannot afford without these enabling monies. NTFC have had their plans for ages and the council have viewed these plans, they are no secret.
Councillor Hadland also states the council support NTFC and their ambitions, there has been little evidence of this?
The council set down timescales for the Sixfields Area Action plan in January at their cabinet meeting, stating a preferred option decision on the location of the District centre would be August 2006, he has now stated in a letter to NTFC Supporters Limited (but not NTFC) that this will now be November 2007. Councillor Hadland stated yesterday “We do not want to go backwards” - I will leave that to your readers’ judgement.
Anthony Collett
Chairman
NTFC Supporters Limited
