The Bridge was built.

A stadium at Newmarket



Gambling £150,000 of ratepayers money is not something the Council should be doing IMHO.

Are you talking from a financial point of view? If you are then, if they can't afford GBP 150k (which they will hopefully get back in under 12 months time, then they are well and truly screwed)

The bridge may have been built but it was still a waste of money.

I am sure they will have spent GBP 150k on far more hair brained schemes than guaranteeing the loan for design fees for newmarket. Money they may yet receive back.

Like all Councils if they were more effective at collecting council tax and other dues, then they wouldn't be in such a financial mess. I bet they have written millions off that was due over the years. Sorting that out is something far more important to the health of their budget than GBP 150k, which as I have said already could lead to a multi million pound sports facility in their borough

This money is a draw down from the £2m offered to BOTH clubs. After qualifying for the purpose of the loan - i.e. by structuring the Community Trust in the correct manner and by offering to build a Community Stadium rather than a privately owned facility - the money was granted towards the planning costs for the stadium - a relatively small contribution of the overall costs towards the plans for NM.

If the council change their mind about this money, that is their perogative. The end goal remains the same and the value is small potatoes in the grand scheme of all things WMDC.

It is interesting though that rather than see BOTH clubs enjoy the benefit of any funding, one poster has now decided that it would be wrong to assist either!

All that money for a poxy bridge, yeah a waste of taxpayers money but "thats different" cos it got built




But "gambling taxpayers money" is something the council should be doing

I wonder why.

The way I read this quote is he is campaigning against a decision to build an industrial estate but not build the stadium with it i.e. he is against having the industrial park on its own, without the stadium. Sounds to me like he's for the stadium and against an industrial park built without it

To quote Papa Lazarou....This is some kinda saga.
The ultimate irony for the NIMBYs and ice cold comfort for us Wakey fans is if the industrial park happens minus the stadium. This may well be the final outcome. Wakefield seems to have its own special problems in getting this done. I live in Beverley now, and previously in Hull. I can tell you Hull CC just got on with the KC and the NIMBYs sang in the wind. 25k seater stadium in a green park almost in the City Centre...and they could have built 3 in the time WMDC has f'd around with Thornes/Newmarket. As for fat Eric sending this back....I'll stop now before I implode. So much for private sector replacing public sector lost jobs etc etc. I desperately want to believe the problems will be overcome and eventually it all happens and Red Hall will come to its senses and see the folly of unsustainable expansion clubs being given priority over stronger heartland clubs and that Cheryl Cole will hop off the train at Bev station and see a wee baldy Wakey supporter and fall instantly in love. After about 5 years of this Wakefield stadium saga I suspect it's all about as likely. I hope I'm wrong and I apologise for being a gloom merchant in this recent wave of gallows optimism....I really, really do hope I'm wrong, but, to borrow a research science phrase from work, practice based eveidence would suggest a nil outcome.

Not sure who you are having a go at here. If it's me then the terms gambling the councils money were used by bigalf and not me. I consider it a speculative cost a bit like a feasibility study - sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate. As I said previously, I am sure the council have wasted GBP 150k on less deserving cases - Peter Boxes wage for one.

My point about the bridge was that it cost alot more than GBP 150k and I am sure Wakefield tax payers money contributed in some way shape or form - so it makes the amount the council have paid for the design fee loan (and I will repeat may still get back) an insignificance when you look at what could be the outcome for the district.

Beat me to it TRB!

As all the other posters have said, this is not news to anyone... at all!

This loan is indeed a draw down on the £2m which Wakefield MDC have offered to BOTH clubs as security going forward as a contribution to both stadium developments. BOTH clubs have, and have always had, the same opportunity to access some of the money in this way. However, for some reason Cas Tigers have not yet set up a correctly structured 'stadium' trust company and have therefore not being able to access it to date. They may have very good reasons for not doing so, but I have always not really understood why Cas didn't take up the same offer and use some of the money?

I think bigalf you need to be careful here... as TRB has said, are you now saying that because you think 'you' might not need your £2m that you opinion has changed? Also, I don't think we have had any 'official' word from the club that they do not need it if the Opus deal comes off... they have said fully funded by Opus but what does that mean?

Throwing stones, glasshouses and all that mate!

But they were obviously happy to act as guarantor and accept the responsibility for repaying the loan if certain conditions triggered the repayment.

So you're creating a storm in a teacup!

In a strange way this offers me more encouragement, the council obviously 100% believe that this development will happen or they wouldn't be backing it financially the way that they are.

Clan - As I have just posted, Cas have had and still currently have the same opportunity to use some of this money if they wish, but they have chosen not to set up a 'stadium' trust company as yet and therefore do not currently have a legal vehicle to access the councils money. They may have very good reasons but I really don't understand why the haven't done so to date?

Two things spring to mind and it could be one or both.

1. Incompetence

2. RW and Directors are expecting to somehow profit from the new stadium at GH which would explain why they are rumoured to have told FN to do one with regards him buying the club or a stake in it.

I wonder who posted the 'news' on this board???

[urlhttp://www.casforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20247[/url

It would appear the Cas fans no longer want their £2m... or has someone not fully explained in their original post the full story and history of accessing this money?

It has had the effect the OP wanted and now they are indignant about how it is one rule for Wakey and another for Cas, blah, blah! So Fully (HuddsTiger) is going to bombard the council with his disgust... what about... how they haven't taken up exactly the same opportunity as WDCT?

I bet Wakefield Council are so pleased that their contribution to BOTH clubs is being thrown back at them!

What a lot of people in Cas can’t seem to grasp about this council money is that it’s a kind of investment for the council.

Regarding Newmarket the council will be provided with state of the art modern sporting facilities that the whole community in the Wakefield district can benefit from. It can even be argued that due to it’s location that the people of Castleford will benefit more than the people of the City of Wakefield. The proposed stadium will be of use to all the districts professional sporting clubs if need be. A truly community wide project that we should all be getting behind.

With Glasshoughton we have, what we are lead to believe is a privately owned stadium for use and of full benefit to Castleford Tigers with no community facilities that will be of little benefit to larger community of the Wakefield district. The fact that this money is put aside for Glasshoughton is really a surprise considering that the council electorate will gain absolutely nothing in return. Basically Castleford fans want everything on a plate without no compromise!

Without doubt the NM loan offers a far better deal to the taxpayers of Wakefield than the GH loan.

I think you are being a little unfair here but equally have hit on something that I think, explains why Cas have chosen, so far, not to access this money.

The £2m is dependent of providing 'community facilities', they don't provide them, they don't get to access the money. The plan at Glasshoughton was always to provide less community facilities than the Newmarket site, just by the nature of the developments, but the council made both clubs the same offer.

I think that RW and the BOD at Cas know that the planned stadium at Glasshoughton offers commercial opportunities that the club could exploit, exactly like Leeds do at Headingley, to generate extra income for the club rather than to WMDC by handing over space to community use and not commercial use. Now, this is not a criticism of RW or the BOD... in fact, if this hunch is true (it is just a hunch) then that sounds like a wise business decision. Running an RL club is hard enough, but if you can ultimatley generate more income for the club then great, but equally he has to do without council money. I think they have decided not access the money, so far, to keep their options open, simple as! It also looks like that might be even more wise now Opus are on board and indeed Cas can 'own' Glasshoughton outright and take 100% of the income for the club. I am sure if Wakefield had the choice, which they didn't, they would take the same decision.

I still think Cas will open up the facilities, as much as they can for free or low cost community use, but they don't have to hand over 'permanent space' to dedicated community use via WMDC.

I think bigalf might be trying to start something that even RW and the club might get a little upset about... some fans giving the council a hard time for no real reason, just as they want the council on-side!

As an aside, the widely 'suspected' inquiry programme has now been made public record on the planning portal here and therefore confirmed -

[urlhttp://cominoweb.wakefield.gov.uk/Planning/lg/GFPlanningDocuments.page[/url

So the inquiry hearings will commence on 6th December 2011 for an estimated 12 days, so finishing on the 21st December 2011. That means a final decision by the SoS by March/April 2012 looks very likley now. So only 8/9 months to go now!

[size=150Only !![/size

ONLY !!! All they needed to do was pick up a map and see it was a ex pit and the place is a dump. 2 weeks at most this should have taken.

. This day an age its a joke!

When I go to WMDC planning link I can't see any information.

Can IA tell me how long does he think Cas will have to wait or is it how longs a piece of string..?

And then there were three! www.pontefractandcastlefordexpre ... _1_3492662 Great plans and things are already happening down Post Office Road

And then there were three! www.pontefractandcastlefordexpre ... _1_3492662 Great plans and things are already happening down Post Office Road

Just a point

The Loan Guarantee was delegated on 15th dec 2009 and approved by the Cabinet on 19th January 2010.

The land transfer offer to both clubs was not ratified by the Council until 14th Dec 2010.








BTW well done in the 9's tonight Cas are 9 wins from 9. Might see some of you at the Probiz next week!

In hindsight, I was a little quick to post my comment so I apologise for that.

In terms of Cas, we have a trust. It's called Tigers Trust, it has charitable status and serves the community and has a remit along that basis.

Cas have no need to access said funding as, probably at the time, they wanted to retain as much money for the stadium build itself.