Oldham Council is on the verge of sealing an historic regeneration deal with Oldham Athletic Football Club.
Following months of negotiations a visionary new agreement to secure the npower League One club's future - and provide a range of benefits to all communities - was approved by Cabinet tonight (August 1).
The multifaceted agreement (in principle and subject to contract) could deliver a series of innovative and permanent solutions to long-standing issues while unlocking exciting new regeneration opportunities.
The headline benefits include:
·Ensuring Oldham Athletic stays within the Borough;
·Providing security of tenure for Oldham Athletic at its historic home;
·Stimulating the regeneration of Boundary Park, beginning with the construction of a new North Stand;
·Delivering a range of potential new sporting, leisure and retail uses at the Lancaster Club site;
·Ensuring the wide-range of vital local community schemes run by the club can continue.
Council officials have been in talks with Oldham Athletic for some time to find a new way forward following the decision to abandon plans to relocate to Failsworth.
Under the proposed new deal the Local Authority would purchase the Lancaster Club site at Failsworth from the football club.
This would enable it to control this gateway site and redevelop it in a strategic manner that reflects and is sympathetic to the Borough's wider needs and aspirations - giving new security and assurance to local residents about the future of these sites.
The long term opportunity to create a leisure led regeneration scheme could include: the development of a football centre with small sided artificial football pitches, plus the provision of additional leisure-oriented retail and community facilities.
The purchase price for the Lancaster Club site - independently verified by specialist third-party valuers - would be paid to Oldham Athletic upon certain key milestones being achieved. Strict conditions are attached to all of the funding in order to ensure that the Club's future remains at Boundary Park.
The provision of a 'one-off' grant to Oldham Athletic has also been agreed. This will ensure that the wide-ranging work and community-based activities that the club currently undertakes within the Borough continues. This includes work by the Oldham Athletic Community Trust, the club's local football academies, plus the various health and wellbeing programmes run daily in local schools, encouraging participation in all sporting activities, and building community cohesion.
The complex negotiations are now at an advanced stage with a range of financial, technical and legal matters to be finalised.
Councillor Jim McMahon, Oldham Council Leader, said: "We have been holding lengthy and positive negotiations with Oldham Athletic for many weeks."
"The professional football club is of vital importance to this Borough and we identified ending its decade of uncertainty as a key priority within our first 100 days in office. The choice is pretty simple - keep it or lose it. We are in no doubt that if we were ever to lose it, we would never get it back.
"It's equally important to note that their demise would also mean an end to the range of outstanding work that the club carries out with young people across the Borough and with our local communities.
"I'm delighted to say we have reached an agreement in principle to keep Oldham Athletic in the Borough. A key part of this commercial deal commits the club to regenerating its historic home at Boundary Park which - in most people's minds - has always been the preferred solution.
"The club has sought a way to deliver a permanent and economically-viable site. It has proved a frustrating process and, in that respect, we sincerely hope today's agreement marks 'the beginning of the end' of that saga.
"In supporting Oldham Athletic we're very clear that - whilst it isn't the role of elected members to protect private businesses - we do have an obvious duty to defend and promote the Borough's interests, communities and economic well-being.
"As well as safeguarding our professional football club this deal has the added benefit of kickstarting regeneration projects at both Boundary Park and the Lancaster Club. These schemes will provide vital new facilities and amenities for local residents.
"The proposed grant to Latics would also ensure that important initiatives continue to be delivered to the benefit of all communities across the Borough. The club has an outstanding track record in this area. Young people from all backgrounds have benefited on many levels by learning important new life skills about diet and exercise, for example, or by accessing new opportunities to try activities and mix with other communities.
"Finally, we must be clear that our ongoing negotiations remain commercially sensitive at this stage. Any further detail and updates on progress will only be issued when both parties feel able to outline our proposed next steps.
"For that reason neither Oldham Council nor Oldham Athletic will be making any further public comment on this matter until that point."
Simon Corney, Oldham Athletic's Managing Director, said: "Today's decision by the Council is very welcome news after what has been a difficult and frustrating process for everyone. We now have a chance to genuinely redevelop the current ground, and, as part of this agreement, we have taken steps to implement this and secure the Club's future, which has always been our intention. This has involved complex arrangements with regard to Club and land ownerships and we do want to emphasise that we still have a long way to go.
"I would like to thank Jim and his team for their support and for recognising what the Club means to the Borough. We hope that this relationship continues and that we can work with this administration to continue the work the Club does in this community and to deliver a redeveloped stadium."
