We at CFCTruth have to admire the doggedness of the residents of the West Ken and Gibbs Green Estates whose homes are critical to the CapCo/LBHF Earls Court master plan. Recent successes include winning the right to a High Court hearing which has delayed the development's commencement until next year. Now they have got the council to buckle on the claims over alleged dodgy dealings with respect to "bribes" and promised homes in return for support. Having fervently denied any such activity, the council have appointed Deloittes to investigate the matter. You can read more on the link;
http://shepherds-bush.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/council-instructs-deloitte-to.html
We also noted in a residents newsletter that there are further legal challenges on the way. We quote;
"Judgement that our case shall be heard in the High Court has caused Kensington & Chelsea Council to delay their consideration of the scheme. In turn, the Mayor's decision is delayed. If we win the hearing next year, the whole scheme could be declared unlawful.We're not relying on just one High Court action to wreck this scheme.We're working with several legal firms to prepare more legal challenges, which are far greater in scale and involve vast expense. Our Solicitors and Barristers have advised us that our High Court actions will prove deadly. "
Of course, if this scheme as it stands is wrecked, this in no way means that CFC are guaranteed a crack at it. But we would be very surprised if CapCo were not, as we speak, working up their options should the residents be triumphant. They might even have already been on the phone to the club....
Nice one Cyril. You got to love those residents. Currently we have the 8th largest capacity ground in England. Of those bigger than us, Anfield will soon be expanding, with the help of their Council, and Manchester City have the possibility to expand I believe, meaning City, Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool will all hold 60,000 or more. Then there's Tottenham and West Ham who will be joining them in that bracket more than likely, pushing us down to 10th and down to 4th in London. If we consider that QPR will be moving, Fulham have been granted permission to expand by LBHF, we see that we are in an incredibly disadvantaged position regarding expansion, if we wish to remain true to our roots regarding location. It won't be long before clubs like Reading (and many others) will be catching up with us in relation to capacity. Regarding our aspirations and status a substantially bigger ground is a must and sadly that doesn't look like happening at SB, especially not with an uncooperative Council such as LBHF. I still can't see how we will ever get planning consent for EC, even if we were welcomed to the party, because there would be so many objections. It would be the ideal solution for most Chelsea fans I imagine, as it ticks every box. We can but dream. Thanks for keeping us updated and may the good work continue ..
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