BREAKING: West Northamptonshire Council win judicial review into Sixfields land deal, paving way for East Stand to be finished

The end may finally be in sight for the long-running Sixfields land saga after a judge ruled in favour of West Northamptonshire Council in the judicial review hearing brought against them by Cilldara.

WNC struck a deal with Northampton Town FC for around 21 acres of contaminated land adjacent to the club’s ground nearly 18 months ago but any plans for development were immediately delayed, initially by the invoking of the Asset of Community Value, and then by rival bidder Cilldara, who launched an application for a judicial review claiming the deal between the council and the club did not give best value for taxpayers.

Back in March 2022, officers at the council recommended the £2million CDNL bid to the Conservative-led authority, despite Cilldara bidding £3m for the same land. Cilldara argued at the High Court that the council was not obtaining ‘best consideration’ as required by law by rejecting the higher bid and that the decision was ‘irrational’.

However, Mr James Goudie KC, acting for the council, dismissed those claims and said that the authority had ‘bent over backwards’ to accommodate both parties, adding there had been no procedural unfairness or irregularity and that there had been ‘extension after extension’.

The judge reserved judgement when the hearing took place back at the end of March but a decision has now been made, with Mrs Justice Steyn, who presided over the infamous ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, ruling in favour of the council. In her verdict, the judge rejected the contention that the council failed to take into account the substantially higher price reflected in Cilldara’s fourth offer compared to CDNL’s fourth offer.

She stated: “Cilldara sent that offer to every cabinet member and publicised it. The members met with officers and discussed it. It is obvious that they were fully cognisant of the higher price offered by Cilldara; it was essentially that fact that made the decision a difficult one. It is also clear that members took into account the offer of an indemnity. Their concerns as to whether any indemnity would fully remove the council’s exposure were rational. But in any event, as I have said, the crux of the issue was the reliability of Cilldara’s offer rather than its precise terms.”

Pending a possible appeal from Cilldara, the club will now go through the legal paperwork with WNC, a process that is expected to take between six and eight weeks, before work can restart on the unfinished East Stand at Sixfields.

The seemingly never-ending saga goes back more than a decade to when the stand was supposed to be refurbished using money from a £10.25m loan, but work stalled in 2014 after contractors went unpaid.

A judicial review looks at whether the decision was made lawfully and if not, the original decision is quashed. However, in this case, the judge was dismissive of Cilldara’s argument and ruled emphatically in favour of the council.

Both the council and the club have repeatedly said that the East Stand would be finished as part of the deal, and that will be reflected in the legal paperwork, which is to be drawn up and signed off over the next couple of months.