Current Situation Explained

 ARNOLD TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

Following the decision of Gedling Borough Council to evict the Football Club from the present ground the Club has been involved in urgent negotiations to find a new home.

 The Club (Arnold Town, Arnold FC and Arnold Veterans) has worked to make the move and avoid any delay.

• After fourteen failures to relocate, a new site on the A614, just north of Arnold, and only 1.7 miles from the present ground was found.
• Having reached agreement with the farmer/land owner for a thirty-year lease on the 22.5 acre site a planning application was made in June 2003.
• This single site home incorporates the stadium, all weather pitch and ten pitches ranging from full size to four mini pitches.  All the facilities are on one site for twenty two teams with a playing age range from under eight to over fifty.
• The planning application was agreed by the Council, at a Planning Committee meeting held on September 3^rd 2003.  We were on target for a move to the new ground in August 2004.  Consultants, architects, financial advisors, a public relations organisation and landscape engineers were appointed.
• Within days of the planning consent we received correspondence from the Council stating that as the new ground would be in greenbelt the application would be referred to the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM).
• Six weeks later we found out that GOEM had not received the papers from Gedling Borough Council.   When we complained the papers were sent, by hand, to the GOEM office in Nottingham.
• GOEM could either allow Gedling to proceed with the application or refer the matter to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.  In January GOEM decided to refer the matter to London.  Four months to make a simple decision.
• The Government, which usually supports local decisions, decides if the matter should be returned to Gedling or be the subject of a public inquiry.  After seven months they have still not made a decision.
• Numerous friends and supporters have written to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister requesting information and asking for a decision to be made.  All receive the same bland reply from GOEM but no answers.
• The Club has written to the Deputy Prime Minister but he did not even acknowledge the correspondence let alone reply.
• The Club has made several calls to GOEM.  They do talk to us but there is not even a hint as to when we will receive a reply.
• The local MP, Vernon Coaker, continues to support the Club but has not had any response from GOEM or the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
• We have no information concerning the activities of Gedling Borough concerning what if anything they have done to support the Club.  Indeed we believe that the Portfolio Holder for Leisure has not tried to help.
• Leisure Services have now evicted the Cricket Club.  The Cricket Club has found a new ground by amalgamation with another Club.  The Council actions will mean the demise of playing our national sports, at a high level of participation, in the Arnold area.
• With the eviction of the Football Club soon to be followed by the closure of Bestwood Avenue for the building of a school the resources in Gedling, already one of the lowest in the Country, will be severely reduced.  No growth and a serious reduction of junior facilities together with the possible closure of the senior team will certainly mean junior players will have to depart from the Town if they wish to continue playing in adult football.
• The Club has already spent £30000 in preparation for the move.

We call upon the Government to make a decision.  We look forward to Gedling Borough Council honouring their promise of support to ensure the future of the Club.  This might mean the extension of our stay at Gedling Road to enable the Government to make a decision and the sports complex to be constructed.

If you wish to help support your local team and help obtain a magnificent new facility please send a message of support for the Club to: