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Delays could put £1.3m football scheme at risk

BBC Steve Parker, the chairman of Crewe FC, standing in front of a pitch at Crewe FCBBC
Chairman Steve Parker said the funding for Crewe FC was at risk

A grassroots football club has said council delays in deciding a planning application could stop its £1.3m move to a new stadium.

Steve Parker, chairman of Crewe FC, said the extra two-month wait could put more than £1m funding it has secured at risk.

The town's MP, Connor Naismith, has urged the local authority to make a decision sooner.

Cheshire East Council said it was working with those involved to "resolve the remaining matters".

Crewe FC is a community club with about 40 teams, including male and female teams of all ages and teams for people with disabilities.

It have been seeking to move from where teams currently play at the Cumberland Arena to the King George V Playing Fields in the town.

In May, the council and the club agreed a deal for the move and a planning application was submitted in September.

That was originally due to be decided in November, but has now been pushed back until January.

A sign saying Welcome to the Cumberland Arena and Crewe FC's badge
Crewe FC says council delays to its planning application could put the move at risk

Mr Parker said that more than £1m in funding it had been allocated from the Football Foundation could be "at risk" because of the delays.

"The entire project is cost neutral to the council," he said.

"They will pay nothing and ultimately they will be the owner of a new £1.3m facility.

"But in order to do that, the planning application that is currently in has to be approved, even with conditions, to allow the Football Foundation to access that funding."

He called on Cheshire East Council to "pull their finger out".

UK Parliament Parliamentary portrait of Connor NaismithUK Parliament
MP Connor Naismith said he was concerned about the Crewe losing the project because of the delays

Connor Naismith, the Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, told BBC Radio Stoke the council should "prioritise" the club's application.

"This is a unique example where we can deliver something that Cheshire East clearly needs and Crewe clearly needs without the council really having to spend a penny," he said.

"The project has to meet certain timescales to achieve funding from the Football Foundation, and the delays mean that now the project is unlikely to meet those timescales unless a decision is made very, very quickly."

He added that he was concerned that the project could be lost.

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "We are working with all relevant parties to resolve the remaining matters and a decision will be made at committee in January."

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