After reading Thursdays Cas n Ponti it seems clear to me that Tescos are not involved with the Opus/WR project. The question is who is, if anyone?

It seems convenient that the planning application is due to go in after the announcement on the Newmarket PI results is known. Come to think of if, over the last few years a lot of Glasshoughton related events seem to coincide with what ever is happening at Newmarket. Call me a cynic but I can’t help but think the events are related!

tbh, the word that enters my mind when I read one of you posts on this board is more nordic in origin.

Then you would also be wrong. The end date has nothing to do with Newmarket (as much as you seem to think it always is).

So pretty much none of us know anything?

I'm all for people posting opinions or rumours they've heard or even a snippet that they actually know but lets not get too heated over what is happening at WR yet. I'm sure Tesco don't even know yet so even a member of the SMT is unlikely to be able to update us.
Give the likes of RW and his team time to try and either convince Tesco or find someone else. It might turn out for the better.
As someone posted above, Cas are in a pretty good position that they own the ground. Better than many I have to say.
Hope good news comes soon.

The only people who will know are Opus and the higher-ups in Tesco, whilst I'm sure Cas will be kept in the loop when there is news to tell (not forgetting and Legal advisors).

Anyone else not involved in the process will have very limited knowledge and can only go off rumour, hear-say or conjecture as I stated. I'm by no means saying that I am right but I very much doubt that Tesco have pulled out. I actually searched through Tesco's website last night looking for the comments of what I_A was referring to them over-spending. However, at no stage through their Chief Exec's, Chairman's or Financial performance from last season (and notes with the accounts) was this mentioned. If I_A could point me to this, it would be appreciated.

Fully sorry but its common knowledge that Tesco have had to ring-fence money because of a possible Eurozone collapse. www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ak-up.html

Fully sorry but its common knowledge that Tesco have had to ring-fence money because of a possible Eurozone collapse. www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ak-up.html

From my understanding Fully Opus are working on a number of sites, site prospecting if you will. They will have to undertake the same studies (if none have been previously done) at all sites. The reason studies into Wheldon Road were done was due to the fact that there were no contemporary studies to cite in any future planning application.

As I said, my understanding is that a number of sites were presented to Tesco by Opus and an additional developer. In the selection process Wheldon Road has been shelved due to flooding, the same information would impact on the Nestle site in exactly the same way. Further investment in flooding & preventative measures within any build would also be required. Hence putting the client off, in this case. These issues are far from being insurmountable but again don't fit with the required timescale from your point of view.

As far as Junction 32 goes, that again isn't set in stone. Castleford will only have until 2014 to make a move or renew the permission. Waystones may choose to go in a different direction, despite having invested in the stadium project how long can they keep a plot waiting? Even if there are signed deals they won't be indefinite.

While I've never believed the projects at Junction 30 and 32 were intrinsically linked I do believe that the first one to get built will be the only one to get built. It's been said to death but contemplate the possibility of sharing.

If it helps, that ties in with information I posted a couple of weeks ago; the flooding data at WR means that only a store on stilts is viable and a store on stilts costs a significant amount more than a conventional one; that level of cost is not in Tesco's plans.

All rumour and hearsay I suppose, but it's been alluded to a sufficient number of times that it takes on some semblance of verisimilitude.

Not really. Hearsay takes on a semblance of being hearsay.

I have no axes to grind with Castleford, I enjoy the rivalry and never miss a derby game. I'm not adding to the pathetic swipes that take place online between our "fans", just posting information I have been told is reliable. That's why after a lot of thought I joined, following years of reading.

I completely understand Castleford fans being defensive, cast your mind back to how some people were so convinced Thornes Park was viable, how defensive some of the SWAG lot got when evidence (or lack of it) came to light. Fully is passionately fighting his corner, just as TRB does for Wakefield. No amount of "hear-say" will change his mind, his view point is fixed on Junction 32 and fair play.

I hope another supermarket can be brought in, but at best this only delays something which has a very short window of existence. If either of us miss this deadline it's curtains. Who is to say either of us could maintain full time rugby at our present homes, let alone new ones.

My only concern for Fully is that it will hit him harder than most, as he passionately believes in it.

Thank you very much RFL for this continued state of affairs.

Actually I used the term 'over-budget' on their new store development programme for the last two years (in the section of the original post deleted) and not 'overspent' as you are posting I said. There is a very subtle difference in those two statements, so I needed to clarify that for the record.

In answer to your question, Tesco have made clear to all their store development partners that they have indeed exceeded their budgets for the last two years and the reason they told them this, is that they are looking to these partners to value engineer developments as much as possible. I am not sure why you would think you would find this information on their website? While the information of the overspend is not confidential, the actual budget amounts would indeed be reasonably confidential and I bet you can't find any information on any other Tesco departments which have come within or over their budgets for the year either.... why would you?

The point is, every department in Tesco has budgets and budgets are set for many reasons and one of the biggest reasons in Tesco is to continue to deliver a high level of profitability & therefore return for it's shareholders. Tesco is not a bottomless pit and while going maybe tens of millions over budget on store development the last couple of years will not see Tesco unable to 'afford' this, they equally want to keep their costs as low as possible in a difficult global downturn. The point was originally made to demonstrate the fact that now having to a develop a store on stilts, which would cost maybe 25% more, on the WR site, explains why they would look at other options where in previous years speed (which site can be delivered first) would often justify a higher development cost, the focus as changed in recent years to keep development costs as low as possible. Equally, the last Tesco new store development programme I saw didn't include either a Wakefield or Castleford store being delivered in 2012. This programme is fluid and projects get added and projects fall off in the last quarter of the year previous, but generally that programme is the one that matches the budget set!

As for the other sites Tesco are looking at, the information I have is that Tesco have other site options in Castleford they are looking at instead of WR, but I have no idea where exactly those other options are, but a site up near the bus station has been mooted.

The 'industry' is saying WR is no longer in Tesco's plan for a new store, and that is now coming from many different sources, that is as much as I can tell you.

No, I don't believe the hear say because I hear completely differently. It's quite common for Wakefield fans to come on here spouting off about our position without any semblance of fact rather than what they hear on the streets. The majority of it actually turns out to be poppy-cock.

At the end of the day, most of the sites along the River Aire are at risk of Flooding. There is only the town centre that isn't really affected and there are no sites big enough, certainly for the ones like Tesco will be eyeing up, for such a site. They're going to have the same problem everywhere, Hicksons more-so, the Bus Depot (and significantly worse highways problems too), Nestle (which is probably closer to the River Aire). Even Edinburgh House's scheme is probably on the cusp of it but I think it has flood defences down there behind Davison and Robinson.

Anymore, for anymore? In, short, the flood risk will have been sorted a long, long time ago and I'm sure Tescos reassured. Hell, even Opus might foot the costs to sort out the stilts.