A COUNCILLOR says Huntington Stadium must not be demolished until proposals for a new community stadium have been through the planning process.

Cllr Mark Warters has written to stadium project manager Tim Atkins to say demolition teams had been surveying or working recently at the Huntington stadium but, under conditions 28 and 29 of outline planning consent for the new stadium, the old stadium should not be demolished until York City Knights had been provided with and allowed to use alternative facilities.

The council recently said it no longer had confidence in its working relationship with York City Knights chairman John Guildford and so was unable to enter back into negotiations with him on the community stadium development.

A council spokeswoman said yesterday that the demolition teams were merely surveying Huntington stadium, while Mike Slater, Assistant Director for Development Services, Planning and Regeneration, said: "As the planning authority, we approved the details of the planning conditions submissions, relating to the provision of facilities, in accordance with the terms of the planning conditions.

"This was done in consultation with Sport England. The contractual or commercial arrangements between the council and The Knights is not a planning matter.”
 

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YORK KNIGHTS ROW: John Guildford "left with no choice" but to look for a new chairman