The owner of a piece of controversial Workington land has given the town council until Tuesday to agree to buy it.
The Ranch, home to Workington Juniors AFC, is set to be sold to the town council for community use.
Workington Reds Juniors Club want the council to buy the land at Moss Bay as they feared it would be eventually sold for housing and leave them homeless.
But it has been rumbling on for over a year – leaving the club frustrated and even had the town’s MP Mark Jenkinson urging the council to complete the deal.
A Government loan has been secured to buy the land – and town council critics claim that interest payments are already mounting up on it, despite the authority not going ahead with the purchase.
David Hill, who owns the land, told Cumbria Crack that he was informed on February 7 that the sale was near to being completed as the solicitors were only waiting for signed documents to complete the sale.
He said: “All correspondence indicates the council is ready to complete. Despite the delays we remain open to sell the land to the council for community use on the terms agreed provided that the council complete immediately.”
But the town council said this week that there were still issues surrounding the contract and due diligence needed to be carried out before it would sign it.
Mr Hill disputed this. He said: “We have not been informed what these issues are, and the council’s solicitor as of February 16 is in the dark himself. Everyone seems to be in agreement except for some members of the council who have not shared their concerns.
However, Michael Heaslip, of the council, said: “There still remain a number of unresolved issues and when the contract documents are now complete, we must go back to council to get approval of the contact as finalised. A council, unlike a private body, is governed by very strict laws around finance and property, and cannot just put through something like this ‘on the nod’.”
Mr Hill added: “We are concerned that if the sale does not go ahead as planned, then the council will incur large early repayment penalties and considerable legal costs, all for nothing.
“We have written to the council urging them to take independent professional advice on the situation they have put themselves in, by taking out a loan when they believed that they had not agreed purchase terms.
“Renegotiation with the council is not an option because we already have terms freely negotiated with the council.
“Reopening negotiations could continue for ever and we could never know the council were committed to the purchase if they don’t even inform their own solicitor of their concerns. We have given the council until 5pm on Tuesday February 21 to confirm their approval to the agreed purchase terms.
“Unless that is achieved and in the interests of Workington community the council must seek independent advice on the cost implications repaying their loan as this seems their only other option. All costs will be paid by the Workington taxpayers.”
Mr Jenkinson said earlier this week that all the proceeds of the sale would go to charity.
Mr Hill and the town council agreed formally in June 2022 that if the site was developed, depriving the community of its use, then all profits would be paid to the Cancer Research Institute – if the land remains in public use, that would not have to be paid.
