City FC's ground sale blow (From Worcester News)

Worcester City FC ground sale blow

7:10am Friday 25th September 2009 in Local

CITY'S HOME: St George's Lane.

Worcester City Football Club is set to receive a vastly reduced offer for its St George’s Lane home.

Careys New Homes wants to buy the stadium for a housing development and had agreed a price of £7.36 million about 18 months ago, subject to planning permission being granted.

However, the figure could now be as little as half that amount as it is understood City is braced for a bid of about £4 million.

Wembley-based Careys is poised to adjust its offer in the light of deferring its planning application for 98 homes on the site following Worcester City Council’s stance to recommend it for refusal.

Land values have also plummeted since the initial deal was struck and, as a result, City has known it was likely to get less.

Careys’ revised application is not due to be heard by Guildhall planners until November at the earliest, along with St Modwen’s plans for a new ground at Nunnery Way, delayed because of a Highways Agency issue surrounding pedestrian access to the site.

Worcester City chairman Anthony Hampson is expected to address the situation at the club’s latest fans’ forum, due to be held in the Harry Knowles Lounge at 5pm after tomorrow’s FA Cup match against Bourne Town.

He said: “I am able to confirm that as the original contract, drawn up in 2007, was subject to the number of units planners would allow on the site, that clearly means they (Careys) are now free to reduce their offer accordingly.

“The whole delay in both sites is providing a double whammy for the club with reduced units, further planning costs and issues, coupled with property price deterioration and developement viability.

“The purchasers have confirmed that they are prepared to proceed at a lower level but need the club to move forward to the next stage and vary the planning application to comply with the required alterations irrespective of any other issues.”

The Blue Square South club needs to sell its home of more than a century in order to pay off debts in the region of £2 million, most of which is owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

That would leave it with about £2 million to build a new stadium at Nunnery Way, way short of the £5 million scheme unveiled last October as part of St Modwen’s £30 million development.

It is another setback for a project that has rumbled on for the best part of two years and is itself the latest instalment in the saga surrounding a new home for City that has stretched back nearly two decades.

Careys was contacted on several occasions this week but was unavailable for comment.