The Supporters Trust is delighted that there appears to be a clear impetus between West Northamptonshire Council and Northampton Town Football Club’s owners to secure a deal which will see the East Stand at Sixfields completed.
The Trust has long supported the urgent completion of the stand, which has been left in an incomplete state for far too long. Like all supporters, we want it finished.
We recognise that a deal is a matter for the council and the football club, not the Trust, and we see no benefit in the council considering a land sale to a third party which would realise no benefit for the football club.
We would seek to work with CDNL/NTFC to maximise benefits for the football club and the supporter base.
We have asked the club and the council about the possibility of applying conditions to the development of any land within the area of the ACV registration, including all of the old athletics track land behind the East Stand, which we feel at the very least should be protected for club and community benefit.
This would provide an insurance policy for the club and the council against unfulfilled promises on the part of the present or future club owners.
And looking ahead, we are proposing a partnership infrastructure foundation between the council, the club and fans to discuss potential projects and how these could be enabled and funded to grow the club’s assets and benefit supporters and the local community.
We echo the words of Tracey Crouch, who led the review on football reform. She said: "If it was not already sufficiently clear before the start of the review, the evidence has been clear that football clubs are not ordinary businesses.
"They play a critical social, civic and cultural role in their local communities. They need to be protected - sometimes from their owners who are, after all, simply the current custodians of a community asset."
