THE Evening Press is today able to reveal more details of the deal which saw John Batchelor take over York City.

The reports are based on legal documents received by the paper. DAVE STANFORD, TONY CURTIS and PETER MARTINI report. Other details of the deal were published yesterday.

THE reason for John Batchelor's frustration at being unable to find a suitable site for his planned £17.5million new super stadium for York City and his subsequent verbal volleys at planners can now be made clearer.

The City chairman surprised many observers in the summer when he launched a blistering attack on the City of York Council as he struggled to find a suitable site for his planned new ground.

Mr Batchelor had earmarked land at Clifton Moor and said he was close to concluding a deal for the site.

However, he vented his fury at the local authority, saying when he had put the site to planning officers it was suggested he would have to fund dualling of the outer ring road.

His impatience with the council can now be understood given that in the documents surrounding the sale of Bootham Crescent and York City Batchelor agreed to submit a planning application for a new stadium, or a stadium development, by July 11, 2002.

The agreement with Bootham Crescent Holdings, dated April 11, 2002, states: "Mr Batchelor undertakes to the purchaser that he will within three months of the date hereof submit to the local planning authority a planning application or applications for the development of the new stadium and shall use all reasonable endeavours to obtain such planning permission in a form reasonably satisfactory to Mr Batchelor as soon as reasonably practicable including, if appropriate, pursuing any necessary appeal against a refusal of planning permission or against a non-determination of the planning application and during the course of the planning application Mr Batchelor shall keep the purchaser fully informed as to the progress of the application."

After being told there would be difficulties in building a new ground at Clifton Moor, Batchelor, under pressure to fulfil his obligations, branded City's planning officers as "inept".

Speaking today, Mr Batchelor said the problems regarding the planning application deadline revolved around the time factors involved of getting that application in.

"My belief is that the future of the club could never be great while at Bootham Crescent because we could not do other things at Bootham Crescent," he said.

"It was to the club's advantage to plan the new ground in a green-field site and to do that we had to prove firstly why the club could no longer play at Bootham Crescent and secondly that no existing brown-field sites were suitable.

"It's a fairly lengthy process and it's taken a long time to do, although that has now been underwritten by a third party (whom Mr Batchelor declined to name)."

Asked whether the application was ever likely to be complete within three months, Mr Batchelor said: "I was hopeful it could have been done. You have to be optimistic."

He added: "I've started out the whole thing wanting to do things as openly as possible and every time you say something it leads to another debate.

"At all times, some people assume you are in it to rip people off. All I've tried to do is make the club work and get everyone in the position where they have minimum risk.

"I have tried to do things in the best interests of the club at all times."

Updated: 10:49 Saturday, December 28, 2002