This is one that folk often get wrong. Politically WMDC would bend over backwards to get this through. However it is my understanding that the planning department of any Council is fully independent of any political interference and is ultimately responsible to the courts - please correct me anybody if I'm mistaken.

It's fair to say that WMCC Planning Dept has been shall we say pedantic with us in the past. I'm sure some pressure could be brought to bare by the Mr Box but not much.

I was just thinking, what if we had that £6M the council are going to blow on the Hepworth. We could start this in the close season and certainly get the new Western Terrace up and running.

You mean the Hepworth that brought over a million people into Wakefield in its first year of operation and has won numerous awards?

It's an easy bit of hyperbole, but the Hepworth has a significantly wider appeal than WTW could ever dream of; apples and oranges innit.

And cost the council £30m to start with, inc money originally allocated to our stadium!

I don't knock the Hepworth, it's a fantastic asset to Wakefield, but there were no 15,000 signatures asking for it, there was no-one leading a campaign to make it happen and there was no outside investment to fund the majority of it.

The council need to stick to their promises and cough up! They've proved they can find funds - when it suits!

In fairness it cost £30m to build, that's not how much the council put in. The vast majority came from grants etc and it really is something we (people from Wakefield) should be proud of.

Isn't the problem that essentially The Wakefield RLFC is a private and why should the council prop up a private business.

The community trust will run it not Wakefield Trinity same arrangement as NM.

It will be a community stadium, not belonging to Wakefield Trinity.

No one is asking the Council to prop up Wakefield Trinity. All that is being asked is that Yorkcourt and the Council fulfill and deliver the obligations that were agreed on receipt of a Planning Consent following the Public Inquiry which was to deliver a Community Stadium for the residents of Wakefield.

By the way, whilst I'm not a fan of the Hepworth I think it's fantastic for the City and the majority of the funding came from Grants and Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency and not Wakefield MDC.

Looking at warringtons ground that could fit on Belle Vue and the covered terrace would be ideal for the west terrace, flattened the western terrace is bigger than you think and the pitch can be moved east a few metres if needed, this can be the home stand like Warrington HKR Leeds. Redeveloping BV is doable it's not as land locked as people suggest and it can be done it NM is a def non starter.

It didn't - the bulk of the funding was from grants, as has already been pointed out; and I imagine there was someone leading a campaign - those funding bids don't write themselves.

I can't see the point in comparing the two - fight for a stadium by all means, but don't cry foul at The Hepworth; it's been an unqualified success and enjoyed by many more people in one year than will visit a community stadium in ten.

It's Yorkcourt I'm annoyed at - they appear to have done a fine job of fleecing their way out of a legally binding agreement.

I don't recall that the council were putting any money into the stadium. It was to come from the developers and various grants. I may be wrong and I am sure I will be corrected by those in the know and probably one or two who aren't.

I for one would never cry foul of the Hepworth, however the fact that they can conjure up money for one thing then plead poverty when it comes to a community stadium is something else.

You are also bang on about Yorkcourt ,but who should have ensured that the document they have now fleeced their way out of was water tight.

This country is full of countless new stadiums, they are everywhere. Yet how many attempts have the clowns at WMDC made to get one for our City, is Newmarket the 4th abject failure ?

I predict a scrubbed up Belle Vue is the only thing that will emerge from this stadium fiasco. No where near the grand plans many people will have us believe.
I hope I'm wrong but I'm sure I'm %99.9 right.

You my friend are bang on especially if scrubbed refers to one tin of end of the line paint from BM stores.