Nov 23 2006
By Larry Neild City Editor, Daily Post
MERSEYSIDE'S biggest government agency, the NWDA, is refusing to hand over £9m to Liverpool FC, despite preparatory work starting on a massive New Anfield project funded by another government arm.
Club executives have signed a deal with Liverpool City Council guaranteeing to underwrite £1m-worth of improvement work at Stanley Park.
It will enable work on the restoration of the Victorian park to be planned, rather than wait until the funding squabble is resolved. Up to £9m of European funding has to be spent within a certain timescale to avoid funding managers in Brussels clawing back the cash.
But there is still no sign that a similar amount of vital public funding will be released by the Northwest Development Agency.
NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead said: "The agency has yet to see any clear evidence of the club's ability to commence with the stadium project, that is to raise the necessary funds. We are eager for the project to start, and we have ring-fenced funding from the agency as our contribution."
Liverpool City Council has agreed to be the legal responsible body for public funding, which means the council will have to refund public money spent if the stadium project collapses.
Without the underwriting deal, city council tax payers could have been left picking up the bill for the park improvements if the overall stadium project had not gone ahead.
Merseyside's Objective 1 projects committee agreed to fund public realm works around the proposed new stadium to the tune of £9m after receiving the club's assurances that it had a package in place to pay for the new £190m 60,000-seater stadium.
But NWDA officials in Warrington say they have written several letters to the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, asking for clarification.
It is understood that concerns raised by officials at the Warrington agency include possible changes of ownership at Anfield.
One source close to the agency said last night: "There is a lot of speculation about the future ownership of the club. If a new owner does take over, that person, or those people, may have a different attitude to a new ground, or towards a shared stadium with Everton. They may even want to look at the level of debt at Anfield before committing to a new stadium."
Club officials continue to make guarded comments about the future, insisting the club is committed to delivering a new stadium.
Last night, Frank McKenna, chairman of Downtown Liverpool in Business, said: "It really is about time the club proved it has the funding and is starting work on the new ground. There are other projects eager for funding, such as the proposed extension of the runway at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
"Some people suggest that the runway extension is far more crucial anyway to the local economy than a football stadium. The club must finally come forward and show people the colour of its money."
Last night, a Liverpool council spokesman said: "The city council accepted the grant offer from Objective 1 earlier this month, following discussions with Liverpool Football Club, during which we were reassured that they are making satisfactory progress in getting the funding for the scheme in place.
"We are now proceeding with preparatory work such as finalising the joint venture company and securing contracts ahead of the start of the development of the scheme. We will not be starting on site with actual works until we have full confirmation that their funding and the money from the Northwest Development Agency is in place."
By Larry Neild City Editor, Daily Post
MERSEYSIDE'S biggest government agency, the NWDA, is refusing to hand over £9m to Liverpool FC, despite preparatory work starting on a massive New Anfield project funded by another government arm.
Club executives have signed a deal with Liverpool City Council guaranteeing to underwrite £1m-worth of improvement work at Stanley Park.
It will enable work on the restoration of the Victorian park to be planned, rather than wait until the funding squabble is resolved. Up to £9m of European funding has to be spent within a certain timescale to avoid funding managers in Brussels clawing back the cash.
But there is still no sign that a similar amount of vital public funding will be released by the Northwest Development Agency.
NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead said: "The agency has yet to see any clear evidence of the club's ability to commence with the stadium project, that is to raise the necessary funds. We are eager for the project to start, and we have ring-fenced funding from the agency as our contribution."
Liverpool City Council has agreed to be the legal responsible body for public funding, which means the council will have to refund public money spent if the stadium project collapses.
Without the underwriting deal, city council tax payers could have been left picking up the bill for the park improvements if the overall stadium project had not gone ahead.
Merseyside's Objective 1 projects committee agreed to fund public realm works around the proposed new stadium to the tune of £9m after receiving the club's assurances that it had a package in place to pay for the new £190m 60,000-seater stadium.
But NWDA officials in Warrington say they have written several letters to the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, asking for clarification.
It is understood that concerns raised by officials at the Warrington agency include possible changes of ownership at Anfield.
One source close to the agency said last night: "There is a lot of speculation about the future ownership of the club. If a new owner does take over, that person, or those people, may have a different attitude to a new ground, or towards a shared stadium with Everton. They may even want to look at the level of debt at Anfield before committing to a new stadium."
Club officials continue to make guarded comments about the future, insisting the club is committed to delivering a new stadium.
Last night, Frank McKenna, chairman of Downtown Liverpool in Business, said: "It really is about time the club proved it has the funding and is starting work on the new ground. There are other projects eager for funding, such as the proposed extension of the runway at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
"Some people suggest that the runway extension is far more crucial anyway to the local economy than a football stadium. The club must finally come forward and show people the colour of its money."
Last night, a Liverpool council spokesman said: "The city council accepted the grant offer from Objective 1 earlier this month, following discussions with Liverpool Football Club, during which we were reassured that they are making satisfactory progress in getting the funding for the scheme in place.
"We are now proceeding with preparatory work such as finalising the joint venture company and securing contracts ahead of the start of the development of the scheme. We will not be starting on site with actual works until we have full confirmation that their funding and the money from the Northwest Development Agency is in place."
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