Northampton Town Football Club are pleased to open up a public question and answer session regarding the Sixfields re-development.

We are happy to answer any question from anyone, be they supporter, politician, councillor, landowner, developer - from anyone at all.

Questions are now being accepted by email at redevelopment@ntfc.tv

Please send your questions in, and we will print all answers and questions on our web site, all we ask is that you include your name and town/area. Anonymous questions will not be considered.

Questions will be answered below on a regular basis.

Simon Davis asks; The front page of tonight's (Friday January 16) Chronicle and Echo covers a story regarding JJB and a planning refusal suggests its bad news for the Cobblers plans for Sixfields. Is this correct?

We chose not to comment on the outcome of what is another landowner's planning application, but we are happy to talk about the background. We understand that the original application was a non retail scheme to split the current JJB store in two and provide a mezzanine floor for storage so that Holiday Hypermarket could then move into a smaller unit. As such it is a matter for USS (the landowner) and the Council to sort out and decide where they go from here. However our understanding from the submitted evidence is that JJB stated they were moving out of Sixfields and the Holiday Hypermarket wanted a smaller unit and rent. The outcome could now see both stores close and in light of the planning inquiry outcome we feel very sorry for those who may now lose their employment if this happens.

The application did not go through what is called a sequentiality test to determine whether or not the Holiday Hypermarket could have been relocated in the town centre, and without conditions the A1 usage may have set a precedent. However we are also aware that the Council offered no objection to a new 20 unit scheme at Weston Favell including similar small A1 units which will be in direct competition with the town centre. We find these contradictory planning decisions confusing and unhelpful to all potential developers. We also have been told that neither of these applications nor the subsequent appeal or inquiry details were submitted to the Council's Planning Committee for elected members to comment on and were both decided via delegated powers. We believe this is contrary to the governments advice on Probity in Planning and agree with the advice that all sensitive applications which are likely to have a public interest should be decided on by Councillors at the Planning Committee.

We also note that the Inspector was mindful that the Council has not declared what sizes of units they feel are appropriate for town centre or out of town use and that he also said that the Council should determine the future of Sixfields via a Masterplan or through the Local Development Framework. This is contrary to what they have requested of us at Sixfields recently as they have asked us to be responsible for submitting plans. We will do that in the spirit of trying to be helpful and we will carry out a sequentially test to ensure that any garden centre proposal cannot be located in the town centre, and we would hope that any application is put before Councillors on it's merits for them and the public to judge it on in the spirit of openness and transparency, and not decided behind closed doors as was the case with the applications referred to in the question.

We believe the decision on the JJB application is nether good nor bad news, we believe it is simply an unconnected planning decision and should be a matter for the parties involved to comment on more specifically should they wish to. We did however feel that Councillor Church's comments were a bit too self congratulatory given that the matter is quasi judicial.

Matthew Rumsey asks; The press are reporting that Keith Barwell is ready to invest a further £6 million to expand Franklins Gardens for Northampton Saints. Reports suggest that work could begin as early as Summer 2009. How can the Saints obtain permission to commence works at such short notice whilst the Cobblers are given excuse after excuse from the Council and related agencies? Do both grounds not fall under the same planning departments and rules? If the excuse given to the Cobblers for not allowing Retail Expansion of the Sixfields site is so not to compete with the "planned" town centre redevelopment then surely this further expansion by the Saints is increasing competition by attracting further visitors to their corporate and weekday operations, not to mention traffic to an already built up surrounding area. Sixfields, although close to Franklins Gardens is much better situated and has a better ability to help the community by providing new jobs, an influx of spend on the local economy with Motorway visitors and a real opportunity to invest in public infrstructure for the continuing housing development in the area, once the initial redevelopment of the Sixfields site is complete of course. Do the council planning authorities realise that this is not just a one-off money making scheme and that further benefits can be realised to the local taxpaying community free of their charge (As outlined in previous questions)? Is a problem with the Sixfields redevopment because the land is on a long term lease? If Mr Cardoza and his Directors were to purchase the land under pretention of using it for the same purpose as the Saints, would different planning rules / authorities apply, or would more support be offered seeing it a complete private venture? I also wonder with such massive housing expansion taking place the infrastructure needs of the area. Not just public needs but commercial needs such as shopping. LXB have commercial partnerships with Wyevale and House of Fraser (HoF), could we not mimic Milton Keynes with these and other partner at our current site? I could not see either Wyevale of HoF competing with the Town Centre redevelopment because they would satisfy a demand, as proved by the droves who go to Milton Keynes Ikea.

As Franklins Gardens falls out of the Sixfields area it is not subject to such strict planning scrutiny. We also appreciate that the Saints are able to fund their improvements without the need for development gain to help finance the build. We congratulate them on their success to date and hope eventually to have facilities which rival their own. Conference and training facility is very different to retail and we believe that both Stadiums have something to offer now and in the future within this field. You are correct to mention the need for infrastructure work to be done alongside the building of so many new homes, we believe this not only includes a district centre for those in the South West of the town (although we believe this now not likely) but we also believe that the enhancement of the Community Stadium is also an infrastructure need.

Tom Doherty from Kenilworth asks;
I was wondering if there was any chance of the application for the re-development being re-submitted at some point in the future. If the time was not right this time would the council be open to an application in a few years?

A planning application has never been submitted because the Council has said that any such application will be judged against their wider "Core Strategy" plan which they have yet to publish and will not be ready until 2010-2011. They have then said that they would not reconsider their position on retail until the end of that plan period 2010-2026. So a few years is the answer, unless the Council changes its mind.

The Chicago Cobbler asks;
Reading all the controversy surrounding the redevelopment of the Sixfields Stadium and adjacent area, just leads me to pose a few serious questions that Northampton folk seem to forget to easily.

Who voted the current councillors into office in Northampton? When is the next election to vote them out of office? So when these two questions have been answered Northampton folk will realise they don't have to wait until 2025 to move forward with plans to redevelop the stadium and adjacent area.

The difficulty I see for Cobblers fans is a real serious dilemma, only around 40% of fans attending games at Sixfields actually come from Northampton, the vast majority come from areas not covered by the current council administration. That's always been the case in the last 50 years and is unlikely to change.

What's staggering with Northampton is it has a population of around 200,000 and the football club can't fill the existing 7500 stadium's capacity, so that does not bode well for the future and a planning application to increase its capacity.

I have to say that Northampton folk have very little passion, desire and pride in their town. I have just visited Northampton and I was amazed to see the state of the town centre and surrounding area, its a shambolic mess and the town centre is littered with grubby pubs and binge drinkers strewn up and down the Drapery and Abington Street. It appears that Northampton is interested in one thing and one thing only, pubs, pubs and more dirty grubby pubs. As a bank closes the council must have given permission for a pub to replace them, I call this brainless and irresponsible.

Hand on heart, the town and its councillors is a reflection on the people who live in the town and who voted the current councillors into office...so its fair to say, Northampton folk have got what they voted for. The good news is they can change it at the next local election if they so desire and have some pride and passion in themselves and there town.

I don't personally agree with the notion that Northampton Town Football Club need retail development at Sixfields... I honestly believe Mr Cardoza has three choices at this time. One is to relocate the football club down the A43 towards Kettering in a different planning area of the county and to seek a new build ground share with Kettering Town on an equal basis. Personally for me, the folk of NORTHAMPTON don't deserve a football club as they don't support it in the numbers they should for a town of its size.

The second option is for Mr Cardoza and his development partners to re-evaluate their current plans and change them to build something the area actually needs, not a gardening centre and shops. Why not build a new school for Primary/ Junior school children and decent NHS dentist surgery and medical centre for the immediate area, these are things that are desperately needed by all accounts and finally build a first class sports and leisure centre with swimming pool and indoor arena with an all purpose surface. The town is in desperate need of this kind of facility, Danes Camp Leisure Centre is a wholly inadequate leisure/sport facility and woeful for a town the size of Northampton. Lings Forum is no better. I would imagine these type of developments would get some Government funding, and its not impossible to build a school and run it with a private public partnership.

Mr Cardoza's third option must be to call it a day and accept the fact he and his family have lost several million pounds, leaving the folk of Northampton to get on with the council they elected to power and realise that Northampton folk don't care enough to support the club in the numbers they should. Lets face it, the existing stadium only holds 7,500 and it only needs 3.75% of the town's population to fill the stadium.

As somebody who spends a great deal of my time in a Sports mad city, with excellent sports stadiums and world class hospitals, with a superb transportation system, coming back to Northampton is like travelling back 100 years in time.

If Northampton's folk had any pride, they would act to rectify the abysmal state of their town and confront the councillors who seem to think its OK to run the Town further into the ground. It's about time the folk of the town put some passion behind the Football Club by supporting their local team week in week out.

Oh oops! this is Northampton we're talking about... a town derived of pride and passion, or so it appears these days.

Likewise Paul from Towcester asks;
Like all our supporters and the vast majority of the people of Northampton, I've just about had enough of the Councillors and their total lack support and ambition for the Town and the Club. Four years of doing nothing and putting up barriers is disgusting and a total waste of taxpayers' money; 'can do' attitude seems to be non-existent, maybe someone should organise a fact finding trip to Milton Keynes for them. Enough of my rant. As much as hate to suggest it, the Club should look at relocating outside of Northampton (or rather the planning boundary) and starting again. Is there any scope to developing something off of one of the connecting A roads outside of the authorities control?

Thank you for your comments, they are welcome. The current Council was elected in May 2007. The ruling party at present are the Liberal Democrat Party. The football club have discussed its plans with the council over a period from 2003 when the Conservative Party were in control of the Borough Council, and before that to a lesser degree when the Labour Party were in office. Our problems have been less to do with the political colour of the Council and more to do with an unwillingness for anyone to grasp the nettle and make the project work. We have also considered the options of moving the stadium, but of course this would be massively expensive due to the infrastructure works that would be needed, but if any of the surrounding district councils had ideas as to how Northampton Town Football Club could be accommodated close to the town then we would listen.

We have also spoken with third parties about health provision and Leisure options for Sixfields. Whilst being supportive of such schemes it has to be acknowledged that they do not bring in the income stream that a retail development does. So any monies for redevelopment are reduced substantially in such circumstances making them difficult with public sector support.

Mr Cardoza has no intention of walking away from the football club or the town, like many supporters he wishes to stand his ground and fight for a future for the club which is brighter than its past. We hope that as the debate continues that more of our elected councilors will come to share this aspiration and ambition.

Paul Busby asks;
Hello there - as a season ticket holder who has lived away from Northamptonshire since the seventies I like most supporters look on at the redevelopment saga with some sadness, anger and not a little bewilderment. I do wonder sometimes, about the advice and support that is either currently available to the Cobblers board/staff or has come forward over the last few years including that from supporters and other local people prepared to provide some helpful professional input for free (or even at cost)! Are there not people/supporters with planning and other professional skills - perhaps from other local authority areas - perhaps even Northampton, who feel passionately enough to make contact and offer some help/advice without compromising their jobs and professional integrity? Or am I living in cloud cuckoo land in these days when staff are constantly looking over their shoulder? I've worked as a consultant (to do with staff/pay issues, community cohesion and loads of other interesting issues but unfortunately not planning) for many years (including having the "joy" of working with local authorities and their staff/councillors). Some time ago I wrote to the club concerned about spiraling costs and the likely impact if things continued in the same way, making a number of suggestions to reduce them. Quite often I've found myself in a position where I've been able to offer advice and help at no cost to organisations less able to pay me because there have been many other good days where I've been able to charge! My point is that I think somewhere there must have been/must be, supporters or "friends" of the Cobblers in the community, who could offer to lend a hand sometimes rather than just moan when they have seen the Board struggle in its dealings with the Council. If the Board has preferred to employ staff or outside help to guide them through this process then again I wonder how well served they have been? All of the blame seems to have been aimed at the Council. I don't expect a reply that slates the club staff but my experience in life is that a breakdown in any relationship is rarely the fault of just one party - I'm just so sorry no one seems prepared to come forward to help!

The Football Club have been very fortunate in the last few years in having access to some of the best business and planning minds available to them both in a paid and voluntary capacity. On the business front the club have turned around an annual deficit which reached as high as £1.8million and now is around the break even mark. Although the club still loses some money this is managed by the board in a sensible fashion. Likewise through its own staff and through its partnership with LXB the club have accessed some of the best advice we could ever wish for. We are also grateful for the input of our fan base both within the Trust and outside, which include professionals in many fields willing to offer additional advice. Our problems over the years have less to do with any advice or input to or from the club, they are more to do with a Council which has constantly changed the basis of the local planning framework and their preferred way of dealing with the Sixfields issue. The club have responded professionally at every twist and turn, only to then find that the process is changed again by the local authority. The relationship with the Council has become a matter for focus over the last few weeks as we have decided as a business that we cannot continue with the ongoing uncertainty and mixed messages coming from Councillors and or officers of the Council and we have decided that the public have a right to know what has been happening (or not happening) in respect of this issue.

Nick Powell asks
Why do the council allow a new extended community shopping centre at Weston Favell but not Sixfields? Why can't the council starting backing Northampton in improving itself & giving the people of the town somewhere to be proud of, before we have nothing left in the town apart from warehouses.

The Football Club were also surprised at the stance taken by the Council in respect of this redevelopment when matched against their recent comments. Of course each planning application is dealt with on its merits but the two decisions do look to be contradictory.

Arthur Newbury asks;
Dear Sirs,
Why, oh why did the council not have guts to say 4 years ago what was said 3 weeks ago?

The Council's position has changed constantly over the last 4 years. In 2004 officers of the Council were supportive of development at Sixfields and were keen for the Football Club to sign a lease agreement which saved the Council £500,000 a year in running costs for the stadium which the club took on the responsibility for. In June 2005 the Council promoted their own District Centre plan on the North of the Weedon Road.

This was rejected by Councillors and in December 2005 the Cabinet agreed to support a district centre on the Lower Plateau at Sixfields. This decision was called in by the Liberal Democrat Group in January 2006 and was overturned. From 2006-2007 the Council undertook to determine which of the two sites and/or others were the most suitable. In October 2007 the Council decided to answer the questions regarding the future of Sixfields via the Local Development Framework and engaged the public in an 'Issues and Options' consultation which was due to report it's findings in February 2008.

These have yet to be published.

In June 2008 they decided instead to resolve the Sixfields issue by the Council taking on the responsibility for drawing up a Masterplan for Sixfields, and landowners met in August to discuss a way forward. The Council agreed to publish a draft masterplan in December 2008 for landowners prior to a public Consultation in February 2009. In November 2008 the Council sent landowners a letter saying that the masterplan would now be delayed and dealt with alongside the delayed Local Development Framework, and then at a meeting with the Football Club on the 10th December 2008 the council informed us that 'not another penny' would be spent on the masterplan and that no retail which 'inadvertently or in any other way' affected the town centre would be approved and that any retail plan would have to wait until the end of the Joint Core Strategy period 2010-2026.

The football club throughout this period has been willing to compromise it's plans to meet the Council's requirements, but they have gone from being the promoter of large scale retail (in 2005) to saying that no retail will be allowed (in 2008). It is this ever changing policy and practice which has led to the football club's frustration and anger which we know is also shared by other landowners in the Sixfields Area.

The Council met with landowners in August 2008 to discuss possible levels of retail even though behind the backs of all those present and without the knowledge of their own planning committee they were preparing a case for a planning enquiry arguing that no retail at Sixfields should be allowed. We consider this to have been underhand and dishonest and still seek an explanation from the Council for their actions.

So we agree that they should have made their mind up and resolved this matter 4 years ago, but we disagree still with that decision which is contrary to their past actions and, as has been exposed by the former Town Centre manager Phillip Saunderson in a recent letter to the Chronicle and Echo, is overprotective of any town centre interests.

David Ash asks;

We have seen Ikea slip through our hands because of the councils dithering and dallying, with all the hundreds of jobs and the thousands of visitors that Ikea attracts to their stores, we now see the opportunity to bring more jobs and visitors to Northampton Town being stifled through exactly the same dillying and dallying and this begs the question, do we know who is pulling the strings for these bearded wonders who pretend to have the interest of Northampton Town at heart. Where do individual councillors stand? We need to know where our councillors are at 3.00 on Saturday afternoons. Why aren't the local press looking into why a plan to bring thousands of visitors to Northampton is being squashed by people who are supposed to be doing what the local community want.

We believe, like many others, that the planning system in Northampton is far too complex with far too many bodies involved. To secure a planning application at Sixfields we will need to involve the Borough Council's planning committee, West Northamptonshire Development Corporations Area Planning Committee and the West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Committee (which includes input from Daventry District Council, South Northants Council and Northamptonshire County Council.) We believe that this over complex system is a barrier to development and anyone looking to invest in the town may think likewise when faced with such a complicated system. We don't seek to blame individuals but one of our frustrations is that the players change so frequently that we keep having to go back to the beginning in informing new people around the various tables.

The supporters Trust have written to all 47 councillors on Northampton Borough Council and they are publishing any replies on their website. Unfortunately to date we believe that only a handful have responded.

Some Councillors do attend Sixfields on match days and we have 3 Borough and County Councillors who attend most home games, others attend less frequently or when invited. We believe the media have been very fair in their coverage of what has or has not happened at Sixfields and we are always open and up front with them when questioned.

Glen Cousner asks;
The council keep stating that the Cobblers are welcome to apply for planning permission at any stage. However the Cobblers are stating that this is impossible due to changes which the council need to make to the lease agreement they signed for Sixfields.
Please tell all Cobblers fans the following:
What needs to be changed?
Why are the council not allowing these changes OR have the Cobblers tried to drive these changes to allow planning to be applied for?

Every change to the current uses at Sixfields will need a revision of the lease. For example, the hotel. NTFC have been working for over two years on this project and we need to change the lease to first of all allow the land where the hotel will sit move from the Club's leasehold back to the Council and onto the new Hotel developer. This tripartite (three way) agreement really needs to be agreed before any hotel developer would commit to spending money on a planning application. A previous developer did risk putting in an application but then withdrew it. Despite the club making several requests to the council over the past 2 years this tripartite agreement is still not completed. We have another meeting with the Council in January to progress the tripartite agreement, but the delays to date have led to us losing at least two potential hotel development partners and we are currently having to reexamine our options. A similar lease agreement will be needed for any further development which includes the land which NTFC leases from the Council. Its a bit like someone deciding to build their own house. The first thing they would do before engaging architects or putting in for planning permission is to secure/buy the land on which they wish to build. The lease agreements therefore pre-empt any further actions. When the Council say that the club can put in a planning application at any stage, they are not saying anything that we don't already know. Anyone can put in a planning application but unless you have secured the land and the development agreement and cash to pay for the build then you are wasting your money and have no idea as to if you will succeed.

The Council also said in June that THEY wanted to draw up a masterplan for Sixfields informing developers what they wished to see placed where, and they promised us draft drawing by Christmas. Now they are saying its up to the developers to masterplan and submit applications as they wish. In our view it is this 'application' based planning process which has made such a mess of Sixfields in the past and we would prefer that the Council as the strategic planning authority did its job rather than leaving us and other developers in the dark as to what will and will not be permitted.

Alison Fennell asks;
If I understand what has been said is correct, can the Council please tell me where there is a garden and camping centre in the town centre. What is the problem with moving one to Sixfields to accommodate people from the Daventry side of the county? I live near Daventry and would be extremely happy if there were this kind of facility without going to the otherside of town, either through a congested town centre or the M1/A43, which again is congested. Let's think of people on this side of the county.
I am a season ticket holder at the club, but feel we have a conference league stadium, this is not a good advert to bring much needed new players or young talent to the club. We are not asking the council for the funding, just the permission to re-develop......we have already had plenty of interest with regard to hotel groups that we have had to turn down - do you think this is fair??
Messrs. Cardoza do not have bottomless pockets and at this rate their funding will stop and we will lose the club completely.
COME ON GIVE THE CLUB A CHANCE TO DEVELOP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

You are right there is no garden centre in the town centre and the football club do not feel that such a development will harm the town centre. Of course all garden centres sell additional items, and the limit of such could be agreed by condition if the Council wished.
The problem we have is that whilst Cllrs Church and Woods have said that they have not said no to a garden centre, their planning director has told us that "no retail, which inadvertently or in any other way impacts on the town centre will be allowed." This means it is a non starter as no garden centre would sign up to a 'sale of plants only' deal at Sixfields when they could develop without restriction in another town.
We hope that the council sees sense on this but at the moment we are getting mixed messages from them as to their intentions.
You are also right about their being no cost to the local council tax payer, we are seeking to use any development gain to enhance the Community Stadium. The other landowners involved have verbally agreed to this and we just need the council to do so.

John Whelan asks;
The big problem many people have is understanding who owns what in the Sixfields area, once they have this understanding then it will be easier to visualise the situation. To make it absolutely crystal clear to all is it possible to produce a colour map showing who owns which pieces of land in the Sixfields area? This should then be reproduced to a wide audience along with a brief summary of the issues and sent not just NTFC supporters, but a full page Chronicle & Echo ad, our matchday programme and the Saints programme and any other relevant media outlet….this will ensure healthy debate
Cheers…and a happy new year

We will try to help here but of course we would need the permission of other landowners to publish their details on any map. As far as the land around the stadium is concerned the football club have the leasehold on the stadium, the West car park and the athletics track (the council have the freehold.) English Partnerships (now the Homes and Communities Agency) own the land east of the athletics track together with the North and South car parks and the civic amenity tip. And LXB, the club's development partner, own Nuffield Health, Tenpin and the cinema site.

The football club could construct a plan from those landholdings alone that would help to regenerate the community stadium, but we would still need the Council to be proactive in telling us what they want to see developed.

They promised all landowners in June that they would do just that and publish, by Christmas 2008, a draft masterplan for the area, they now say that this has first been delayed and then scrapped altogether. They now talk about the need for landowners to take on the responsibility for masterplanning through the submission of planning applications. This type of 'developer led' masterplanning is always difficult without any steer from the planning authority as to what they will allow. So far we have a long list of what is not possible and only very limited options left open to us in regard to what is.

Martin Bazeley asks;
I know that the thought of ground sharing is anathema to many Cobblers' fans and management. But in the light of the council's intransigent attitude perhaps it is time to consider some alternative stratigies. Ground sharing with the Saints on terms favourable to both parties or talking to Kettering Town who are looking for a new ground. A joint venture with Kettering on a site which could be developed to include a shopping complex such as the old Ski Club site on the A45 near Wellingborough, for example.

The club have considered ground sharing in the past. The problem of course is that we need redevelopment not just to provide extra seats but also to improve the non match day income from conferencing and events. We feel that any ground share partner would be reluctant to share their current or future income from non match day events and as such the club would receive less overall income than we do at present. We maintain an open mind on this subject but the deal would have to be in both parties interests and the examples we have looked at elsewhere (other than where grounds are owned by councils) usually have a controlling/lead club who are in a much stronger position than their tenant partner. After nearly a 100 years as the tenant at the County Ground we must be careful only to take the club in a direction that secures it's future income and helps to grow the business.