No figure for rent has been proposed to Wakefield"The current proposal that we pay a commercial/reasonable rent (of which we have yet to see any detail or figures) for the new Community Stadium at Belle Vue is unacceptable."[/i (taken from WT's statement). Maybe the figure banded about includes the interest on the £12m+ loan the Council will be taking out to get the stadium built, which only a few weeks ago the Club said they would be happy to pay!

What's your beef with trinity as you only pop up to try and blame or question the club wherever you can when it is plain to see who is being economical (and that's been kind) with the truth - the LA and the developers

I bet the nights fly by in your house.

And again I quote....

The reason we are in the present predicament with no security of tenure for the future of Wakefield Trinity and its new Super League Stadium is entirely the fault of Wakefield Council. 
 
Six years ago after three weeks of evidence, a Public Enquiry paid for by the ratepayers of Wakefield, concluded that a Community Stadium compliant to Super League standards should be built and funded by the planning gains which accrued to the property developer of the Newmarket site adjacent to the M62.
It was the duty of Wakefield Council, as the Local Planning Authority, to ensure that in return for the land coming out of the green belt, the Community Stadium was constructed. The Developer has its planning consent but not a brick has been laid on the Stadium site. We simply require the Council to fulfil its statutory duties.
The Council now seeks to lay the blame for the mess which it has created, at the door of Wakefield Trinity. It should be borne in mind that a Labour controlled council has managed, as a result of the planning consents obtained by the developer, to line the pockets of a property speculator and has neglected to enforce the planning obligations due to its ratepayers, the Community at large, and of course, Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Club.
The current proposal that we pay a commercial/reasonable rent (of which we have yet to see any detail or figures) for the new Community Stadium at Belle Vue is unacceptable. There is a legally binding obligation for the Council to provide a 99 year lease at a peppercorn yearly rental to the Wakefield & District Community Trust. The Trust in turn would create a lease to Wakefield Trinity, as anchor tenants, at a nominal rent to cover the Trust’s operating expenses. Wakefield Trinity would then enjoy the rewards from the Stadium, but would also be liable for all associated risks in operating a Stadium. This was and remains entirely acceptable.
Chris Brereton and myself, have spent four years of our business lives resurrecting what was a bankrupt rugby league club. We have injected over one million pounds of our own hard earned money to reach this situation. However, we are happy with that situation because in playing terms and the fact that we only narrowly missed out on the play-offs, the Club is unrecognizable from the mess we inherited in September 2013.
Unfortunately it is obvious from the attitude adopted by Wakefield Council that they are not prepared to help us secure the long term sustainable future for the Club. It was and remains entirely within the Council’s power to compel the developer at Newmarket to deliver the Stadium. The draft lease approved by the Planning Inspector and prepared earlier by the Councillor or the developers provides for a 99 year lease with no rent reviews at a peppercorn lease in favour of the Wakefield & District Community Trust. Why on earth would we now consider a rental at commercial rates?
Councillor Box is on record in the Council chamber during the recent past making the definitive statement, that he will deliver the perfect agreement, to ensure the Community Stadium is delivered.
We are aware that the Tigers will own the freehold of their stadium at a transfer cost of £1. In legal terms a freehold interest is always more beneficial than a 99 year leasehold which we were prepared to accept. As a result of the Councils decision to relinquish their intention to develop the Stadium at Newmarket that opportunity is denied us.
We are now offered a lease at a full commercial rent at a revamped Belle Vue. That simply puts the Club back to where we were in 2013- an uneconomic proposition, which would quickly cause the demise of the Club, created by the Councils change of attitude or its negligent failure to implement the terms of the planning consents contained in the Public Enquiry findings. This is a breach of the Councils duties as a public body and dereliction of its duties to Wakefield Trinity.
Mr Hussain, the developer of the Belle Vue site has publicly criticised our stance. We were asked by the Council to engage with all the other business people involved in the new Belle Vue proposals. We issued invitations to all concerned on 28th September to attend a meeting to discuss any possible alternative solutions. Mr Hussain never responded so he cannot be critical of our efforts. We sold our season tickets in good faith believing that we would be able to remain at Belle Vue in accordance with the prospect of reasonable terms for a new stadium at Belle Vue. The deal we are now offered bears no resemblance to the lease at Newmarket. It is totally unfair to criticise the Club when there are no meaningful or viable options on the table. When we finalise our playing options for 2018, anyone who has bought a season ticket, and is not happy, will be offered a full refund. However I would hope that our loyal fan base would stick with us at this time.
So far as the Council press releases are concerned we respond:
‘We understand that the Super League deal with Sky pays them a significant sun to cover accommodation costs including reasonable rentals’ –Our Super League payments have no stipulations about rental payments. The fact remains that we have been penalised to the tune of £50,000 for this season ongoing, because Belle Vue fails to meet the minimum operating standards.
To the following comments:
‘I have asked the Club to clarify their intentions as I am aware that they are selling tickets to fans for games at Belle Vue beyond the date the Club have indicated they wish to leave the ground’ – M Hussain
‘I urge the clubs owners to put the fans first’ – D Jeffreys
‘My greatest concern is for the fans’ – M Hussain
We simply reply to the Council – deliver the Newmarket Stadium in accordance with your statutory duties and in response to Mr Hussain, we point out to our loyal fans that we have never received any indication of the expectation of rent for next year, despite being asked many times. We put forward our heads of terms requiring the equivalent of the Newmarket deal and have had no response from Mr Hussain other than a threat of the service of a schedule of dilapidations (repairs) for Belle Vue amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds. These are not the actions of anyone who has the interests of our fans at heart.
We are now preparing our case for presentation to the High Court. For reasons we know you will understand. We have waited since June 2012 for the Council to deliver Newmarket Stadium. We are no nearer today then we were then!
We have a duty to our fans and the City of Wakefield to ensure the long term survival and success of the Club.
We will not be deterred by the unhelpful bullying by the Council and the developers at Newmarket or Belle Vue. We have no mandate or authority to accept anything less than the Community facilities promised at Newmarket on the legally binding terms set out in the Public Inquiry Planning decision. The findings of the Public Inquiry are a matter of public record. Do not rely on our interpretation of them. We have nothing to hide. Look for yourselves at the results on the government website. You will see where the blame lies for this farcical situation. The Club has been used as a Trojan Horse to secure planning gains for property developers which are worth millions of pounds and take land out of the green belt. Meanwhile the bargaining chip used to obtain the consents is nowhere near delivery.
Finally, there are times when there is no alternative other than to stand and fight to enforce what we know to be our rights for the future of our great Club – Wakefield Trinity rather than to see it sacrificed on the altar of the Council and Developers greed.

Chris Brereton & Michael Carter
Directors, Custodians and Fans of Wakefield Trinity

Some of us appreciate alternative views & questioning of club statements.

No beef at all with Trinity, and absolutely no time for much of WMDC. However, (most) Wakefield fans are basing their views on emotion. They continually ignore that the Newmarket development (even if the controversial cold store is included) HAS NOT reached the critical size to trigger the stadium build so how they expect anyone to apply an unmet condition and force the developer to build is beyond me. Whether they've been shafted or not in the past is completely and utterly irrelevant to the current situation but bringing up past failures and ignoring the fact regarding the trigger allows them to play the sympathy card. An alternative has been proposed, which will almost certainly have different conditions attached. Finally I see continued moaning about the deal Cas struck with their developer......but maybe they either learned from the Newmarket deal or were a bit more savvy in the negotiations than their Trinity counterparts?

The trigger point is no where nearer now then it was when this all started years ago, even though there is a big ugly white box on the land that is set to get even bigger by the sounds. The developer was for some reason allowed by the council to build this on a separate application without it contributing to the elusive trigger point....

At 500k rent per annum, there wouldnt be a problem getting any stadium built.
The problem would be remaining solvent and Trinity have been down that road before.
Thankfully Mr Carter does seem to have finances under control but the intransigence of WMDC and a developer who is more than keen to keep filling their own pockets, rather than providing that which they agreed, is bordering on criminal, with the council happy to be complicit.

At least if/when this does get to the High Court, the truth will finally come out.

Why is the developer apparently keen on getting involved in the re-vamp of Belle Vue, yet is nowhere near as keen to do anything at Newmarket within the terms of the original agreement. ?

Here's a thought: Keep stalling until the original planning permission expires on the 31st December, re-apply and not include any Community Sports Facilities in any new application.

It was wmdc who negotiated both agreements not the clubs so I think we are right to question the recent statements from the council saying no one can expect a ground without paying a commercial rent when they negotiated cas not a community trust, to get one for a quild. Cas will also retain all non matchday revenur from their gifted stadium which was another sticking point on the Wakey deal
I

AFAIAK Tigers aren't just simply getting a stadium for a quid as you put it. Isn't the Cas Tigers deal reliable on taking up retail space (i.e Next, M & S and Primark) ? If WT want a similar deal to Tigers how would that transfer to a re-vamped Belle Vue ?

You are paying a quid for the transfer of ownership, the developer is paying the cost of the stadium build from the profits on the retail build. Obviously not enough retail build no stadium for Cas but if it goes ahead the club which is a private entity will own the stadium and control all revenue streams. Something the council have gone on record stating no club can expect when talking about Trinity.

FWIW trinity aren’t asking for the same deal as Cas, I have raised it to show the hypocrisy of WMDC.

What we want is what was agreed at Newmarket. The stadium to be controlled by the community trust who lease it to us on a full repair and insurance basis meaning we are responsible for all maintenance and insurance costs but in return get to generate non match day income and the rental agreement reflects this and the costs we will have to pay to maintain and insure

The key difference between the Newmarket deal and the revamped BV one is the community trust are a “not for profit” entity so only need to ensure the running costs and upkeep of the stadium are covered whereas the developer of the BV proposal wants to profit from the new stadium.

The point being forgotten is that the BV deal was always supposed to be “in lieu” of the Newmarket one and both developers at Newmarket and BV are getting significant benefits as a by product so wanting to earn off the stadium is motivated by greed

The sheer cheek of the Council and developer (Yorkcourt) by constantly moving goal posts but pointing the finger at Trinity is unbelievable. After gaining the green belt land for free off the back of the original stadium plans/agreement, they first downsize the proposed Newmarket development from 12k capacity to 10k, with whispers of getting rid of the proposed training pitches also (?) so they can build more of their own stuff. Then they move the goal posts entirely by saying if they can have all the Newmarket land, we'll revamp Belle Vue (again 10k instead of the original 12k) again no training pitches or even sufficient parking this time going off the artists impression - Newmarket being the desired option by the club I believe, for obvious reasons...but still the club were willing to take this on the same terms as the original agreement. Not only that, the council/developer then totally disregard the 'peppercorn rent' of the original agreement and change it to commercial rent so they can coin in even more, even after getting a huge chunk of land for nothing. Comments in the media suggest that it is the club that want to have their cake and eat it, however it is actually the other way round!

Plus we must not forget that the initial proposal for a community stadium at Newmarket would benefit the community on many levels. There was talk of educational facilities, a sport science department, 3G pitches. As I see it, a redeveloped Belle Vue wouldn't afford the space for what was initially proposed.

The council are now preparing their documents to make it look like the whole issue is solely about Wakefield Trinity getting a new stadium. This isn't and never was the case. They are doing their best to turn the people of Wakefield against the club while at the same time denying them of what was initially proposed.

As Rodney Walker and Colin Mackie said in 2009...

Sir Rodney Walker says, “We have been working extremely hard with all relevant parties to find a solution to benefit the whole community and a new site for the proposal. We are delighted to have found an opportunity with great access and great potential to move sport on to another level in the district. We very much hope that this is the first step in creating world class facilities and clubs in the district.”

Colin Mackie of Yorkcourt Properties comments, “This is a very exciting opportunity for Yorkcourt to be involved in. We are confident that the project can be delivered in a timescale to guard the future of Rugby League in the district and create a facility for sustained sporting success”.

If you can put your club allegiances to one side for a moment and consider the future of not only Wakefield Trinity, but the future of the district's kids, aspiring athletes, aspiring sportspeople, amateur sports clubs, social groups, you may just realise everyone has been screwed.