Quote: Sandal Cat "It would apply to any community group but the application to list Belle Vue was made because of its and Wakefield Trinity's value to the local community and I believe that any community group making a bid during the 6 months would have to make the bid on the basis of retaining Belle Vue for its current purpose and retaining Wakefield Trinity. It would defeat the object of the listing if anyone could bid for a change of use on the back of them being a community group.
Also don't forget that anyone bidding for Belle Vue (ACV or not) has to adhere to Condition 38 of the current planning consent for housing which prevents any demolition or development until a stadium has been built at Newmarket. If anyone applies for another use then Condition 38 would be imposed on any consent if it were to be granted.
Just a word of caution. The current owner can request that the Council reviews its decision and if unsuccessful it it can appral the decision but again that all will take time. Also its worth noting that The Kassam Stadium was listed by Oxford Council and the owners fought the listing in the Courts and lost which prompted the Glazers to withdraw their legal challenge to the listing of Old Trafford.
Look on this as a positive step and now the Trust has some time to try and secure a deal.'"
Just as a point of note the six months grace is for purely community groups to come up with a bid, what they intend to do with it makes no real disernible difference at this stage as long as it is deemed for community use. A change of use can only be determined to be acceptable or not by the local planning authority once planning permission has been applied for which is likely to be after the bidding process. On the flip side if then any change of use is refused then they may look to sell on again a year down the line, maybe even resulting in a better deal for the trust.
As for condition 38 you are correct and it does offer some security but as a word of caution, the planning for housing has now expired and any new owner would highly likely apply to remove the condition with their new plans. Given the lack of movement on Newmarket for so long since S.O.S. approval and no real sign of it moving forward any time soon it will strengthen their case, especially if there are firm plans for other facilities in the district i.e. the new plans for Clayton Hospital and the Five Towns development in Glasshoughton. Also any termination by the club of the lease and a move out of the area WILL weaken it's case in the eyes of the planning commitee. With no 'immediate requirement' for a like for like Sport Englands opposition could at that point be negated by the new owner providing a patch of community land somewhere relatively nearby for recreational purposes. It is far from cut and dried which way it would go.
I don't really see the current owner appealing the decision as given the timescales and the original bidding deadline having already passed then it wouldn't really serve a great deal of purpose. Hopefully the trust bid is the winning one and all this is rendered unnecessary but there is likely more twists in the saga yet.
