Torquay United Fans Forum

Thanks for comments so far,I thought it would be easiest to just reply. Seems midtable won't be satsified by anything said, perhaps because of his wider political views? In terms of seeking a meeting with club after election it is an easy reply for them to say "he has never spoken to us" as they did with the Guardian piece, hence looking to do so. I would alos encourage people to email their Councillor, you may well get a supportive reply regardless of their political colour.

merse btpir wrote: ↑16 May 2017, 09:52 Are you absolutely sure about this as a matter of stone walled FACT Kevin; because it is certainly not the widely held view?

Is it not a case of they could call it in but they are not necessarily compelled to?

They are not compelled to BUT the number of members needed to do so is rather low and from disucssions they could find grounds to do so. In essence the deal would have to receive almost unanimous support from Councillors to avoid call in and my understanding from speaking with members of Conservative Group (I expect you would get the same from other parties as well) is there is no support from leading members of it for idea of selling Freehold.

Interesting to read the comments and thought it might be helpful to add a couple myself:

1. Any decision on Plainmoor Freehold would almost certainly involve all 36 Torbay Councillors as they can "call in" any mayoral decision on this issue so a sale would not take place on date mentioned even if Mayor agreed.
2. Most Councillors are, like me, very sceptical that any viable plan to build a new stadium will emerge and chances of them approving a sale are therefore next to nil. Many are fans of the club themselves. My advice to them would be to say no, although will seek a meeting with club after the election to see if any substance to their suggestions or reasons for wanting to buy it.
3. As one person mentions I have, sadly, seen this before at another club, Coventry City. Lots of pretty pictures, even a model made of a stadium with sliding pitch\roof (Yes seriously!!!) .Historic ground sold.....yet no business plan to underpin the new stadium and the site had not even been bought until the Council concerned stepped in.
4. Getting debates in parliament on a specific local subject not easy (Respect to my predecessor for his efforts on Smoke Detectors) although football governance an issue regularly picked up. I got the parking one by teaming up with a few MPs having similar issues.
5. It is possible a very wealthy person could come forward effectively looking to build something like Sandy Park, based on using league football as a brand to draw business on non-matchdays. Yet highly unlikely as this would depend on a wealthy owner\fans being prepared to cough the momney for it.
6. Have been commenting on this issue for some time, long before election called. Genuinely not sure if other candidates have had anything to say about it until now, but hope they take a simlar interest.
7. Finally always happy to engage with TUST and other fans on this via [email protected]

Kevin