FOI responses expose Coventry City Football Club’s “new stadium plans”

The Football League has maintained that a commitment by SISU-owned Otium Entertainment Group to return Coventry City Football Club to the city of Coventry was a condition of their permission for the club to “temporarily” ground-share with Northampton Town.

Coventry City’s chief executive, Tim Fisher, has repeatedly stated that the club’s owners intend to return the club to the Coventry area and they have agreed a £1 million bond with the Football League should the club not do so (the Football League has since revealed that this “bond” is nothing of the sort – it is, instead, a promise to pay should the club default on its promise, rather than a sum that has been lodged with the League or an Escrow service).

Tim Fisher has made a number of promises and self-offered deadlines over the past few months, stating that more information about the company’s (or companies’) plans for their new stadium would be forthcoming. But despite this, Coventry City Fans remain in the dark.

Tim Fisher’s first – and most significant – promise was made in May this year when he said that the new stadium would be built within three years. Four of those 36 months have now passed and fans still don’t know where the proposed new stadium will be built.

And on 26 July Tim Fisher told the Coventry Telegraph that “terms had been agreed” on one site, subject to contract and that they had entered “exclusive talks on a second site”. He said that they were “aiming to finalise a deal within eight weeks.”

That is a self-imposed deadline of the 20th September for the fans to be told where the new stadium will be built; although he still has not said which SISU-owned entity was seeking to buy the site and build the new stadium (and therefore own it).

In order to build a stadium CCFC will not only need to buy the land but they will also need to obtain planning permission. It is usual practice when developments on such a scale are envisioned for discussions to take place with the local authority planning offers prior to the purchase of a site.

While these discussions can’t bind the local authority on which way the decision will go once any planning application is eventually made; they can help developers identify whether planning permission is likely to be particularly difficult on the proposed site and whether it is appropriate to purchase land for the intended purpose.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Footy Law Blog asked Coventry City Council and all six neighbouring local authorities whether their planning offers had “engaged in formal conversations with third parties over the past 36 months about any proposed new sporting stadia within the council boundary area”.

The local authorities were also asked for the number sites discussed as a proposed location for any new stadia; whether any discussions were still on-going; and whether the planning department had received any indication that a planning application for new sporting stadia was to be expected.”

The local authorities were deliberately not asked for the identity of any third parties engaged in such discussions: such a request was likely to have been refused on the basis that the information was exempt from disclosure on the grounds that it would breach the Data Protection Act or prejudice the third parties’ commercial interests.

In response to the requests, Coventry City Council – which covers the area that the Football League regulations say CCFC should be based (not that the Football League has followed its regulations in its handling of CCFC’s move away from the Ricoh Stadium) – say that its planning department “has not engaged in formal conversations with third parties over the past 36 months about any proposed new sporting stadia within the council boundary area” and that it has “not received any indication that a planning application for new sporting stadia is expected.”

The same is true of North Warwickshire Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Stratford upon Avon District Council and Warwick District Council.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council was slightly more nuanced: it’s head of development control said that she was “not aware” of any formal conversations with anyone about a new sporting stadium; and that no planning application was expected.

Rugby Borough Council, on the other hand, has had discussions with third parties during the past three years about proposed new sporting stadia. Six locations were identified but discussions “primarily revolved around one specific location.” Those discussions are no longer on-going and the planning department has received no notification that a planning application should be expected.

So, the question remains: “Where does Tim Fisher plan to build CCFC’s new stadium?”

Or, perhaps a more pertinent question is: “Does Tim Fisher really plan to build a new stadium for CCFC?”

And a key question that the Football League can no longer duck: What information have they received to show that Otium Entertainment Group intend to return the Club to the confines. Are the Football League presiding over another Wimbledon franchise by stealth?

Note: The FOI requests were made in separate emails to the local authorities on 12th August 2013. On 13th August the request to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council was clarified to make clear that the question referred to large sporting stadia with spectator seating rather small community facilities. Responses were received in the period from 13th August 2013 to 6th September 2013.