Part of the training grounds in Ossett.

It is Castlefords plan, I don't think anyone yet knows our plans, we have new management in case you didn't know

I bow to your greater knowledge AI (Obviously) about all this planning stuff, but surely the spending of any capital on a new stadium should not be a guarantee of franchise, save if others are clearly lacking in franchise points.
What if all teams were spending? I would also assume that they are in the same boat as the rest of SL clubs that they are unable to take legal action against SL/RFL?

Hard for some people on here to understand the concept behind it, but don't you think it is even slightly possible that Mr Glover and Mr Wright had spoken about the options / developments / need to get something done?

Many businesses talk to their competitors, they discuss particular hurdles in their industry, they discuss things where they have joint interests in, they do what they can to individually succeed, and to keep going. Therefore, Mr Glover is doing the right thing by exploring all the options rather than just having NM as the only option for us.

As for Barnsley, I would guess that that wasn't mentioned in the statement as he was focussing on wanting a WAKEFIELD area solution as primary aim, knowing that there is the option should all other possibilities fade away later on.

Before we all spout off about whether AG is right or wrong to drag ground sharing at NM back up and before Cas fans get all indignant and tell him to shove it we should take a look at the background to which these comments have been made.

Richard Wright has confirmed that Castleford DO NOT have the money to build a stadium and won't have the money for the foreseeable future.

Ben Bailey Homes had paid an options fee, somewhere in the region of £200K, to reserve the Wheldon Rd ground but now seem happy to allow that option to expire and will not be paying Castleford RLFC any more money. That means the overinflated price of £6Million (?) that Cas thought they were getting is never going to happen!

Richard Wright alluded to the idea of waiting until the economy picks up before selling Castleford RLFCs family silver as they will only get to sell it once and they won't be backed into selling it cheap just to move forward on the GH project. The economy and therefore the building industry and in particular the house building sector of that industry will not see a significant upturn for the next 2 to 3 years at best with economists now voicing real fears over Britain’s likelihood of suffering a double dip recession which would put that recovery even further away.

So where does that leave Castleford’s GH project in terms of financing?

Even if the wildly optimistic approximations of cost were correct and the stadium price is just £11Million, where are Castleford going to find that money now Wheldon Rds. sale is iced and where were they going to find the other £5Million?

Looking at similar stadium builds and their construction costs Castleford GH stadium price is more likely to check out at around £15 to £17 Million.

There seems to be some forlorn hope that Feisal Nahaboo will rescue and fund their build but he’s a sponsor and the jury is out, Michael Knighton style, on how credible he is in the long term. He’s also had his head turned by his WCC experience and is now forging links with Wigan and despite his “I’m a Cas fan” statement he’ll soon realise that the DW and Wigan have more to offer Probiz than Castleford and Wheldon Rd.

I think the RFL recent actions and public messages about the importance of new stadium for the next franchising period leave them very vulnerable to a successful legal challenge by Salford if they got kicked out. If you had just thrown £20m at something and then they seriously dented your potential income stream by putting you in the Championship how happy would you be and would you not want to spend a fraction of that challenging the RFL in court? The RFL have made that bed and have to 'lie' in it!

No, it could be by the end of this year, but that looks to be the best current time frame. The current situation with Newmarket is unprecedented (as far as I am aware) and having two public inquiry processes running almost side by side over the same piece of land is complicating matters to say the least. The upshot is nobody seems to have the first clue as how things will progress and what impact one will have on the other!

Purely statistically, 75% of planning PI's find in favour of the original applicant (often with some recommend amendments to the scheme) and I am reluctant to make any predictions as to how things might go in respect of the Newmarket PI because I have no idea how much bearing the ongoing LDF process will have on the planning PI.... and nor does anyone else... that what happens when you have unprecedented situations, you have to set a precedent. As it stands, the main arguments upon which Newmarket revolve is the lands current green belt status, wildlife habitat issues and what the planner call the sustainability of the location (this means that some people think the site is too far away for local workers to get their by walking, by bike or by public transport... and yes, I do think the irony of this situation is lost on some people!). The wildlife issue is probably a red-herring because I think WY Ecology/English Nature will have to effectively resolve their issues with the development prior to the PI. I think they will still object, but there objection will carry no weight if Yorkcourt agree to implement the majority of their recommendations.

Now of course the LDF is seeking to re designate the Newmarket site for B8 employment land and I think that would seem very likely (currently!) to happen because Wakefield has a legal obligation to designate 95ha of land on the M62 corridor to B8 development and Wakefield have, in the opinion of there planning policy team, picked the best possible sites for the job, Newmarket being one and biggest of them. The issue here is that the arguments against allowing Wakefield to do this from Leeds and some residents appears weak, the best they can come up with is, use some land in Leeds and you should never have made Wakefield do this in the first place, change your mind please... but they can't and the legal obligation is now cast in stone... so they really have to suggest alternative sites in Wakefield... which they can't... because it would appear this one of the best possible sites!

I really can not see the LDF failing to re-designate the land at Newmarket to B8 but how the PI does or does not impact on that process is a total unknown! Answers on a post please!

It is a buggers muddle but it does currently look like it will be over by this time next year at the latest... possibly!

Don't doubt your logic, i just remember when we were having the discussion on NM and it not guaranteeing us a franchise and wether or not the development sustainable if we were to find ourselves in NL1. There was no mention of us taking on the RFL if we went down, indeed i remember a number of posts, regarding the RFL having SL clubs over a barrel with some kind of legal agreement.

Thought the knockback was Wakey saying No to a Council report on both sites, and feasability of sharing and possibly pooling of the Land/Money.......

Pretty Sure Agent Ted said Wakey would only play at NM, while RW said they would consider the councils report.

We can argue the toss about who's furthest on with their stadium plans till doomsday but its completely irrelevant as far as the forthcoming franchise decision is concerned because according to the RFL website, 'New stadiums or redevelopments of existing stadiums will only be taken into account if the RFL is satisfied that the stadium will be open or the redevelopment finished by the start of the 2012 season,' so that counts us both out.
Given that Quins, Crusaders and Catalans hold the expansion clubs' get out of jail free card unless the RFL radically shift their position on one Championship club coming up and one SL club going down its a straight fight between Cas and Wakey, judged on their current status and not what either side is promising for the future (since frankly neither can be trusted.)
I think administration has done for Wakey in this round of franchises and Cas will survive by default.

only if you promise to bring more than NINE fans down each time !

the point is that,despite a recession the french in general both publicly ( Gilbert Brutus is owned by the FFR I believe !) and privately are building and investing everywhere cos' money is so cheap to borrow at the moment.

They realise interest rates will no doubt rise so they are investing now when the money is more freely available.

everywhere you go in france properties,both commercial & private are being built.