Cobblers ready to 'reopen discussions' over restarting work on East Stand after High Court dismisses judicial review claims

Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas says the club are ‘extremely happy’ after a High Court judge dismissed all claims in the judicial review case regarding the Sixfields land deal between West Northamptonshire Council and the football club.

Pending an appeal, the club and the council can now move forward with the legal paperwork, a process that could take up to two months, before work will hopefully restart on the East Stand at Sixfields.

Judge Mrs Justice Steyn considered extensive evidence from both sides after the High Court hearing in Birmingham back at the end of March and, in her judgement, she found in favour of the council and dismissed all grounds of Cilldara’s claim.

Thomas said: “We are extremely happy with the decision which shows very clearly that the appropriate processes were followed by the Council and the club all along.

“Of course, these delays have been extremely frustrating and harmful to the club and there has been a lot of inappropriate and unfounded comments surrounding the original decision by certain parties but we can now hopefully begin to move forward again on both the contract with the Council and reopening discussions with Buckinghams regarding the East Stand.”

The club will now be reviewing the detailed report, await any appeal processes and will provide a further update to supporters in due course.

Council leader, Cllr Jonathan Nunn, gave his reaction, adding: “We always make important decisions through the most careful consideration, and this decision was one for which we thought through every aspect and detail.

“We also took a great deal of advice, both from our own officers and from external professionals. We were therefore optimistic that the decision we made was sound, given the complexities presented by the leases in place on this land, and what we felt the likelihood was of bringing it forward for development.

“Despite questions raised in some quarters since Cabinet’s decision to dispose of the land to CDNL, Cilldara’s challenge through the High Court has been unsuccessful, and we’ve been completely vindicated on all six of the grounds raised.

“We thank the court and The Hon Mrs Justice Steyn DBE for their time in considering this matter, and we’re pleased that we can now progress a deal which we’re confident will, in the long run, be of greatest benefit to our residents.

“We still have much work to do in shaping and agreeing the final detail of the contractual arrangements with the club, and this will commence immediately.”