Dhanda should stop playing politics with Gloucester City Football Club

10.58.00am GMT Tue 24th Mar 2009

Letter From Jeremy Hilton to the Citizen Newspaper

Dear Sir

The future of Gloucester City Football Club is vital; we have to help the club re-establish itself in the city following the destruction of their Meadow Park ground during the 2007 floods. They cannot continue to play in Cirencester.

I find it sad that Parmjit Dhanda should use his "View from Westminster" column to misrepresent my commitment to seeing the club return to Gloucester.

The all-party working group on the city council, with representatives from the football club has been set up to help the club move back to Gloucester - an initiative that I proposed.

A shortlist of potential sites was discussed at our first two meetings and we shall be meeting the club again on the 2nd of April.

In the meantime, it is premature for Mr Dhanda to start spending city council money before the site of the new stadium is confirmed. We will not hand out taxpayers' money on the whim of Mr Dhanda.

In my view as chair of the all-party working group three key milestones must be reached before any financial support from the city council is considered.

1. The club must confirm the site for the new stadium

2. The club must supply architect drawings of the new stadium with realistic hope of getting planning permission

3. The club must provide a detailed business plan of the project to include costs and other funding streams

Currently the county council has generously offered a long lease to the club at a peppercorn rent a site at Blackbridge. The city council is working closely with the club and we shall consider what support we can give as the project proceeds. We will not make a premature decision just because the City MP issues a press release.

I now ask Parmjit Dhanda to refrain from cheap political point scoring, but instead use his position to raise grant funding for a new stadium from national government sources.

Jeremy Hilton