Wrexham have been left gutted as the council reject the club’s appeal for financial help over the new Kop stand development.
After missing out on UK Government Levelling Up funding, the National League high-flyers stated that it was now time for “Plan B”.
According to The Leader, this would include the Wrexham Gateway Project which would see the regeneration and revitalisation of the Racecourse area.
Wrexham Council secured £25 million from the Welsh Government for the rehabilitation of the area surrounding the railway station.
The council had been hoping to secure UK Government Levelling Up funding. This will fund the west side of the project, which is the stand soccer ground redevelopment and includes groundworks for a hotel and potential conference facilities, along with car parking.
However, Wednesday night saw the UK Government announce which schemes in Wales would receive funding from the £2 billion – the Wrexham Gateway Project wasn’t among them.
Wrexham claim that talks have started with the Gateway Partnership to discuss how the Kop Development could be delivered without funding from the UK Government. All parties remain committed to the scheme.
“The Club was disappointed to learn that the Council’s application for financial support for the Kop Development has been rejected.”
More 👇
🔴⚪ #WxmAFC
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 18, 2023
CLUB STATEMENT ON APPLICATION:
The Club was disappointed to learn that the Council’s application for financial support for the Kop Development has been rejected.
Discussions have already commenced with the Gateway Partnership, as to how the Kop Development can be delivered in the absence of the funding from UK Government with all parties remaining committed to the scheme.
Shaun Harvey, Strategic Advisor to the Board at Wrexham AFC said: “This is the time for Plan B to be implemented and while there will be some uncertainty in the short term, the longer-term outlook remains positive.”
A great shot of Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground with the KOP knocked down ready for a the new stand to be built #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/XqITDMjfRC
— FootballAwaydays (@Awaydays23) January 16, 2023
CLUB STATEMENT ON LEASE STATUS:
On February 11, 2022, two days after the announcement that Heads of Terms had been signed to purchase the Racecourse Ground, the Club approached the WST with the request to surrender their lease for the Racecourse Ground.
It was envisaged that this would be achieved when the purchase of the Racecourse Ground from Wrexham Glyndwr University was completed. The purchase was completed on June 29, 2022.
Since the purchase the Club have regularly requested updates from the WST on the status of the request to surrender the lease.
The Club accepts the assurance from the WST that they are acting in good faith regarding the Club’s request to surrender the lease but with no material progress made since the request was made nearly 12 months ago, frustration is growing.
The Club have been sympathetic throughout to the WST and the constitutional challenges that have been faced during the period, including the requirement to reconstitute the Board in recent months and the changes in personnel that followed.
We now have a situation whereby the Club owns the freehold of the stadium, having secured the support of the 94% of the fanbase to take ownership, lease it to WST Assets Limited, and then the Club has a sub-lease from WST Assets.
As part of the transfer from Wrexham Glyndwr University, the Club agreed, among other things that the Racecourse Ground would remain the home of Wrexham AFC until at least June 30, 2115 unless it was agreed that the Racecourse Ground could no longer meet the requirements of the Club. In this circumstance, the Racecourse Ground could only be sold if an alternative stadium site in Wrexham was identified, and planning permission granted for a new stadium.
With the second anniversary of the takeover on February 9, 2023, the Club hope to celebrate having received a clear timeline from the WST as to when their members will be asked to consider the Club’s request to surrender the lease.
CLUB STATEMENT ON PLANNING PERMISSION:
The planning committee at Wrexham County Borough Council approved the Club’s proposal to redevelop the Kop on November 7, 2022.
The formal permission was received on January 12, 2023, following the successful resolution of the delegated matters and agreement over the conditions.
The planning permission that is now on the public record, includes a condition to the effect that the 5,500-capacity Kop can only be used by 4,900 spectators until such time as the phosphates impact can be accurately quantified and an appropriate mitigation identified.
Accepting this condition now, allows the Kop works to progress and remain on schedule to be completed prior to the commencement of the 2024/25 season.
The Club’s advisors now have 12 months to secure the removal of this condition and there are no significant concerns around achieving this.
While Wrexham reveal they are gutted as the council reject club’s appeal for financial help over the new stand development, a big number of fans gave their thoughts…
@casper_jarrot: Booooo. Two millionaire owners want to improve a town and local area bring jobs and life to a community, and then those in charge say no because they don’t want to be overshadowed after doing so little for so long. Oops…too late.
@hefglo: Vote Plaid Cymru next time!
@__Bulldog: I thought you were the financial support Ryan?
@Tom_Atkins107: And your lot took the mick out of us using the furlough scheme? 👀 #spireites
@Dannyleepvfc: Why should tax payers pay for your new stand when you have been throwing millions at players and pitch/club upgrades which is way above what a club in the conference can normally do. You can afford your stand but you’d rather tax payers pay for it so you can spend on players 🤷🏽♂️😂
@ToryWipeout: Don’t vote Tory.
@CerysKes: Not surprised. All the money will be off to marginal seats and Tory heartlands. They know they have lost Wrexham in the next election.
@_LiamRoberts: What an absolute piss take
@AyePodZ: Personally speaking, i wouldn’t want a penny of their fascist, blood soaked money anywhere near the club.
@atothebto: No more toadying to royals and tories now got us nowhere
@jimmymacd84: A lot of people in this comment thread don’t understand how these sort of projects work, talking like the owners shouldn’t even ask for any government/tax assistance cause they have money. The reality is, an improved Kop will allow significantly more fans into the stadium. That means all the businesses around the stadium will see more traffic and potential revenue, more transit revenue for the city, more tourism from outside Wrexham increasing revenue in hospitality industry etc. An improved Racecourse ground means an improved city. The government denying the plan, which wasn’t just about the stadium but also to infrastructure in the city, is a blow to all of Wrexham, not just it’s football fans. The people thinking this should all be on the owners of the clubs shoulders are wrong and they aren’t greedy. The government should be invested in making Wrexham thrive as much as the owners of the club are, and many of the citizens who pay taxes would love to see their money go to this project. The citizens, the club, the owners have all been let down. Don’t attack them. Back them.
@NickJon05951086: Our owners will continue to do more for Wrexham and north wales than any council will do. Tory or Labour. They’ll do this cause they give a fuck about the people. Not their own ego or wage packet
@djevs74: Time to rattle the tories rat out of our town
@boats74: Time to buy a brick 🧱 scheme again, £50 rips name on it boom 💥
@mgwrexham: If it was ever in doubt, tories can kiss goodbye to Wrexham at next election 👋
@sneakunique: Buy a brick scheme with the colours of the bricks writing ‘f*** the tories’ in honour of his boots! Don’t need planning as it will just be a random selection of bricks that just so happens to provide a message in return for lack of levelling up! 👍
@MattHughes18: Tories were never going to fund us let’s be honest 🐍🐍🤢🤢
@ZZPease: Do a world wide auction. You’d get your stand in no time. Your fan base has grown. I’m Australian and I can tell you I’m invested in supporting this club where I can. Your club history and your community captured my heart. Glad I got to see the real @Wrexham_AFC.
@jayrad198900: So we let that prick Rees Mogg into the stadium for nothing?
@MrChainsaw23: I’m not saying it should happen, but with our new found international renown, a GoFundMe type scheme to “place your own brick in the Kop” would sort out any shortfall this poxy government would have contributed
@tobylaa1: Dirty , lying , corrupt, thieving , cheating , horrible bastard Tories.. fuck the lot of em and @SarahAthertonMP get out of this town. Who’s surprised, cos I ain’t. At least we don’t have to bend over for these crooks ever again. Let this be a lesson . UTST
@ChairmanBryn: So mulls was right all along !
@Sutton_1612: Need a f*ck the tories banner for Sheff utd game now
@streboria: This is what happens when you get into bed with the Tories. They do not care about Wrexham, or our football club. Anyone who voted for Atherton should hang their head in shame. Please ban Tories from our club. Fascist scum. Enemy of our club and our people.
@m_w890: Almost as if having Rees Mogg etc at the ground was a stupid decision isn’t it? Shameful.
— Dean Jones (@deanjones91) January 18, 2023
You don’t maintain wealth by going solo on everything. It’s a standard move. We’re in the states and would love to help so it’ll happen. Keep the faith.
— Steven 🇺🇸 (@_StevenWolfe) January 19, 2023
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