Football Club Lease Row – Round Two
Labour Councillors demand debate must be in secret
“What are they trying to cover up, what are they hiding from Luton residents?“
Liberal Democrat Leader, Cllr David Franks
The arguments on Luton Council over the decision to refuse the football club a lease on land at Cutenhoe Road continued in secret at a meeting of the Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Board on Monday (8th February). Liberal Democrat Councillors proposed that the discussions should be in public but the Labour majority on the board squashed the move.
“If the meeting had been in public we would have proposed that lease negotiations should proceed including payment of a commercial rent; football club responsibility for maintenance of the playing field; a free of charge shared use agreement with the local schools and the Council’s right to take the land back for educational use with 12 months notice,” says Liberal Democrat leader Cllr. David Franks.
“The Town Hall lawyers agreed with us, there was no legal reason to justify the final recommendation being decided in secret but Labour used their majority to make the whole meeting secret.”
“What are they trying to cover up, what are they hiding from Luton residents? They are so determined to keep the issue under a cloak of secrecy there must be something they don’t want people to know. Taxpayers are entitled to know what their Council is doing with their money and their assets and why.”
Looks like the Labour party have lost the next local elections already.
As a local resident, tax payer and supporter of LTFC, this whole outcome on this decision to ‘refuse a lease’ for CCLV Playground fields (as quoted in my reply letter from the Head of Exec Committee, Hazel Simmons). This is an absolute sham, which should be looked into fully by those that were elected by those that live in this town and are supposed to represent our interests.
To hold two previous meeting in secret just shows the Executive Committee are holding something back as the ‘real reason’ why they have refused this development which will benefit not only everyone living in local area, but in the long run the Council financially.
With the announcement that Luton is to be bailed out by the government due to not being able to balance the books isn’t it absolute madness that a lease on a piece of land that IS NOT in use is turned down which would if granted produce a much need income stream to help towards balancing those books!
It is absolutely incredulous that meetings are being held in secret so that no discussions on the subject of the lease can be heard by the public. Is this communist Russia or democratic England, it stinks!
The voting public will not forget if this lease is not granted and if they do there are plenty of organisations who will remind them come polling day!
I believe what the council did behind closed doors as it was nothing to do with finance is illegal . What have they got to hide , as a luton fan and a luton tax payer the decision to give the club planning permission then not to lease them the land dosent add up , this proposal would have benefited schools and local communities, i would like to know what was so secret to hold the meeting behind closed doors