04/11/04 TrustSTFC Welcome Cross-Party Support For County Ground Motion

TrustSTFC, the Swindon Town Supporters' Trust, today expressed its delight at the news that all political groups on Swindon Borough Council have joined together to produce a combined motion on the future of Swindon Town Football Club at the County Ground or, should that not prove viable, a survey of other potential sites. After extensive discussions with all political groups, Cllrs Justin Tomlinson and Michael Dickinson have agreed with the Labour Group that the two motions on the future of a ground for the club currently scheduled to be discussed at the next council meeting on November 18th will be withdrawn in favour of a new composite motion to be backed by all parties on Swindon Borough Council. It is understood the new motion will call on the council to explore ways of working with Swindon Town Football Club to redevelop the County Ground, while also leaving the door open to a survey of other sites in the borough, should the redevelopment of the County Ground not prove feasible. In addition the motion will include provision for consultation with local residents and fans' groups.

Welcoming the news, Tony Norris, TrustSTFC chairman, said "We are absolutely delighted that all parties have united to work together on the way forward for the club. This new motion really is the best of all worlds and all parties involved are to be congratulated on having the maturity to set aside party political interests to work together in the best interests of the people of Swindon. We have said all along that we do not believe this is a party political issue and we hope we can now move forward together with the council to seize what is a golden opportunity for the club, the fans and the community of Swindon as a whole."

TrustSTFC press spokesman, Andy Ratcliffe, added "The past couple of weeks have been a real eye-opener for us - we've obviously been speaking to all the political groups on the council and it's been very refreshing to see how councillors have welcomed the chance to do something of real benefit for the town, the fans and the club. There's often some cynicism about local politics, but we've found councillors have been willing to listen and genuinely want to help." But he sounded a note of caution to fans who might now feel complacent about the motion's chances of success on November 18th "Obviously the motion hasn't been passed yet and it's just as important as ever that fans write to their councillors and sign the petition backing the motion so we can demonstrate the real groundswell of opinion in the town to get things moving on redeveloping the County Ground. This is really positive news, but people have to remember that even if we get the motion passed, that's just the first step - there's a lot of hard work ahead."

Justin Tomlinson, Conservative councillor for Abbey Meads, said "I am delighted that all three parties have been able to find a way to work together on this very important proposal. This is local politics at its best - councillors setting aside political differences in the best interests of the people of Swindon, the fans and the club. One only has to look at some of the fantastic results that have been achieved in other towns when the football club, fans and the council work together to see that this could be a real boon for the town."

Michael Dickinson, Liberal Democrat councillor for Central Ward, also expressed his delight at the news "This issue is too important to allow party political considerations to get in the way. Obviously the residents of the town centre whom I represent have keenly followed the debate over the future of the County Ground and the majority I have spoken to wish to keep the football club in the town centre where it belongs. Hopefully, a way forward can now be found that secures the club's future and takes takes due account of the residents' concerns that there should be no great loss to present open space."

David Nash, Leader of the Labour Group on Swindon Borough Council and himself a Central Ward councillor, echoed these sentiments "Obviously, we all wish to see Swindon Town Football Club thriving and I think the cross-party agreement on this issue reflects that. The debate over the future of the club has been allowed to drift for too long and we are delighted that finally progress is being made. We will do everything in our power to help arrive at a solution that most benefits the club, the local residents and all the people of Swindon."

Meanwhile, Bob Holt, Acting Chief Executive of STFC, expressed his relief that, after the setbacks of the summer, there finally seemed to be a real desire to make progress on the issue "We have been at the County Ground for over 100 years  - it is our traditional home - and it is only appropriate that we should explore every opportunity to allow us to stay here for another 100 years. Fans can rest assured that the club and its partner St Modwen will leave no stone unturned in an effort to come up with a viable proposal to redevelop the
Country Ground."