sorry if this has been posted already but haven't seen it posted on here.
Liverpool FC miss funding deadline
Sep 16 2006
BY SAM LISTER, Daily Post Staff
LIVERPOOL FC have missed the deadline set by the chairman of the committee that will decide if it will get £10m of vital funding for its stadium scheme.
Cllr Flo Clucas, who heads up the Objective 1 committee which hands out European regeneration money, warned the club at a council meeting last Friday that it had just seven days
to prove it had £180m to pay for its ambitious plans.
It means the scheme, which includes the creation of a shop-lined Anfield Plaza on the current ground site, and the restoration of the rest of Stanley Park, has a huge question mark hanging over its future.
Cllr Clucas said: "We have been quite clear about the deadlines. The timetable comes as no surprise to them. We are still awaiting information from them.
"I would like to think that Liverpool FC has been doing its work behind the scenes. This scheme is extremely important to Anfield.
"If they cannot put up the money, then they should just tell everyone concerned."
The European Objective 1 programme makes its decision on the funding in two weeks, on September 28.
Even if the club does come up with a last-minute financial plan to show how it will fund the 60,000-capacity stadium, it will have to be with the committee's lawyers by midnight next Thursday to comply with legal regulations ahead of that meeting.
To save the scheme from oblivion after that, LFC would have to prove it already had £180m in its bank account, but even then it would possibly only give them a couple of days leeway.
The European cash would then be allocated to other Merseyside regeneration schemes.
Senior sources at the North West Development Agency, which is expected to match fund the European money with another £10m, yesterday admitted: "The silence is deafening." If the club loses the cash and can no longer carry out regeneration work, then planning permission for the stadium will be revoked.
Cllr Clucas added: "Any papers would have to be in on midnight next Thursday for due diligence. If the club could prove it had the money in the bank, then the due diligence process would be quicker.
"But if they have to apply for loans and set things up, then that is another ball game."
Councillors last week approved the regeneration side of the scheme, which includes the restoration of the rest of Stanley Park and the creation of a new Anfield Plaza on the current stadium site.
They also agreed a 999-year lease on the section of parkland needed for the new ground.
A group of protesters demonstrated outside the town hall, claiming the scheme would mean losing vital green space.
But the executive board was told public open space would be created at Anfield Plaza, a shop-lined concourse to the stadium from Walton Breck Road.
Officials also insisted that much of the land being taken over was used for match-day parking.
The decision was called in for further scrutiny by opposition councillors, but was again approved on Wednesday.
Cllr Eddie Clein, select committee chairman, said: "This is one of the most important issues we have ever had to consider.
"We had a thorough examination and scrutiny of the proposals, and heard from members of the local community and ward councillors.
"There were a number of areas of concern raised including those relating to parking and traffic, the relocation of football pitches from the park, the effect of construction work and access to the park.
"However, we heard of the massive benefits this scheme potentially has in regenerating the area.
"This scheme will pump £235m into the area , creating more than 700 jobs, restoring Stanley Park and its conservatory and attracting half a million more tourists a year."
But those benefits will all be under threat if LFC fail to raise the necessary funds.
Last night, a spokesman for Objective One said: "The projects committee will make a decision on the funding application for New Anfield on September 28 on the evidence made available to it.
"We will not offer any comment on the application until a decision is reached."
Liverpool FC miss funding deadline
Sep 16 2006
BY SAM LISTER, Daily Post Staff
LIVERPOOL FC have missed the deadline set by the chairman of the committee that will decide if it will get £10m of vital funding for its stadium scheme.
Cllr Flo Clucas, who heads up the Objective 1 committee which hands out European regeneration money, warned the club at a council meeting last Friday that it had just seven days
to prove it had £180m to pay for its ambitious plans.
It means the scheme, which includes the creation of a shop-lined Anfield Plaza on the current ground site, and the restoration of the rest of Stanley Park, has a huge question mark hanging over its future.
Cllr Clucas said: "We have been quite clear about the deadlines. The timetable comes as no surprise to them. We are still awaiting information from them.
"I would like to think that Liverpool FC has been doing its work behind the scenes. This scheme is extremely important to Anfield.
"If they cannot put up the money, then they should just tell everyone concerned."
The European Objective 1 programme makes its decision on the funding in two weeks, on September 28.
Even if the club does come up with a last-minute financial plan to show how it will fund the 60,000-capacity stadium, it will have to be with the committee's lawyers by midnight next Thursday to comply with legal regulations ahead of that meeting.
To save the scheme from oblivion after that, LFC would have to prove it already had £180m in its bank account, but even then it would possibly only give them a couple of days leeway.
The European cash would then be allocated to other Merseyside regeneration schemes.
Senior sources at the North West Development Agency, which is expected to match fund the European money with another £10m, yesterday admitted: "The silence is deafening." If the club loses the cash and can no longer carry out regeneration work, then planning permission for the stadium will be revoked.
Cllr Clucas added: "Any papers would have to be in on midnight next Thursday for due diligence. If the club could prove it had the money in the bank, then the due diligence process would be quicker.
"But if they have to apply for loans and set things up, then that is another ball game."
Councillors last week approved the regeneration side of the scheme, which includes the restoration of the rest of Stanley Park and the creation of a new Anfield Plaza on the current stadium site.
They also agreed a 999-year lease on the section of parkland needed for the new ground.
A group of protesters demonstrated outside the town hall, claiming the scheme would mean losing vital green space.
But the executive board was told public open space would be created at Anfield Plaza, a shop-lined concourse to the stadium from Walton Breck Road.
Officials also insisted that much of the land being taken over was used for match-day parking.
The decision was called in for further scrutiny by opposition councillors, but was again approved on Wednesday.
Cllr Eddie Clein, select committee chairman, said: "This is one of the most important issues we have ever had to consider.
"We had a thorough examination and scrutiny of the proposals, and heard from members of the local community and ward councillors.
"There were a number of areas of concern raised including those relating to parking and traffic, the relocation of football pitches from the park, the effect of construction work and access to the park.
"However, we heard of the massive benefits this scheme potentially has in regenerating the area.
"This scheme will pump £235m into the area , creating more than 700 jobs, restoring Stanley Park and its conservatory and attracting half a million more tourists a year."
But those benefits will all be under threat if LFC fail to raise the necessary funds.
Last night, a spokesman for Objective One said: "The projects committee will make a decision on the funding application for New Anfield on September 28 on the evidence made available to it.
"We will not offer any comment on the application until a decision is reached."
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