STADIUM: Key meeting is postponed, sparking fears of yet more delays

City of York Council's Conservative/LibDem executive was originally set to agree a contract for the design, build, operation and maintenance of the stadium at Huntington in mid-December, with councillors set to ratify their decision just before Christmas.

But the authority has said that, after first slipping back to the executive’s February 11 meeting 'due to ongoing negotiations,' it has now been deferred to a meeting in March, 'as further preparation/ analysis is required before an update is provided to executive members.'

Sources close to the project have told The Press they expect further delays in construction.

The council says on its website ‘forward plan’ section that, in order to allow the stadium recommendations to be considered at the full council meeting on March 24, an executive meeting had been brought forward from March 31 to March 17.

The council's Labour group says it is worried about the ‘continuity of management' of the development, following the departure of project manager Tim Atkins, who is understood to have left his post this week.

The 8,000-seat stadium was originally set to be completed by this summer but a revised construction timeline, issued by the council last August, showed that work would begin next month or in March, with the stadium operational by April or May next year, enabling York City to move in and start playing there for the full 2017/18 season.

Labour leader Janet Looker said she was writing to the council’s chief executive to request urgent assurances that the stadium project remained on track to be ready for the start of the 2017/18 football season.

She said there had been a lack of communication with partners, especially the football club, and said meetings of the Stadium Lead Members Group, a committee for lead councillors to monitor the project, had been cancelled.

She said: “Our suspicions are that further delays to the actual development of the stadium will be announced soon, making missing the start of the 17/18 football season increasingly likely.

“As well as the significant knock-on costs to both the football and rugby clubs and leaving the council open to compensation claims, staff leaving the project and a lack of communication with partners, the public and councillors is obviously very worrying.

“It is clear there are problems when repeated attempts by the football club over a period of months to gain information on the project have been ignored by the present administration.

“We are calling on the Conservative-Lib Dem Council to urgently address these concerns and confirm that the stadium will be ready for the start of the 2017/18 football season.”

Cllrs Janet Looker and Chris Steward

Council leader Chris Steward said: "The administration is absolutely committed to the Community Stadium and will deliver it where Labour failed to even demolish the previous buildings.

"Any delays over the last year are due to failures from the procurement process which was entirely the work of the Labour administration. It is absurd for Cllr Looker to call for more frequent meetings of the Lead Member Advisory Group.

"Labour refused to have any cross party involvement and it was only when the council went to no overall control that myself and Cllr Aspden led the creation of this new group which meets regularly.

"We are working closely with the partner agencies including bringing the Rugby Club back into the project where Labour fell out with them. A full update will be provided in March’.

Mr Atkins, who was appointed as community stadium project manager in 2008 on an annual salary of £43,000 to £50,000, and whose intention to depart after seven years in post was exclusively revealed by The Press last month, is understood to have left the council in the last day or two.

He declined to comment when approached by The Press on Friday, and a council spokeswoman said it could not discuss personal details or information relating to individual employees, other than for assistant directors and directors. But she added: “Tim’s departure does not change the timescales.”

Asked by The Press whether the three month delay in signing the contract would affect the council’s ability to complete the stadium on schedule by next April/May, she did not comment.