Accrington Web - Alan Pickup

Good luck to whoever is tasked with renegotiating with Hyndburn.
The Council doesn't seem to have a reason to play 'hardball'. The ground is allocated as open space and they have an adopted planning policy to retain open space, so the site's value should be based on that. Suggesting it has residential potential would require the Council to contravene its own adopted Local Plan. As open space/recreation use, how many alternative occupiers are there? Also it would make for a very interesting political situation if Hyndburn Council was seen as trying to prevent the club staying at the Crown.
I hope the club is able to discuss the matter sensibly with the Council and are able to secure a long term future that might allow more investment in the facilities, which in turn could help secure the club's longer term League status. That can only be good for the town as a whole. If the club's best interests revolve around it owning the ground, to secure League funding and loans, then I'd like to think the Council would recognise it has nothing much to lose and much to gain by agreeing to that.
KTF.:)