IT COMES as no surprise that nobody has come forward to express an interest in purchasing The Camrose.

It has been declared an asset of community value, as opposed to being not needed or not fit for purpose, as was stated in the planning appeal, and we should not be in the position of needing someone to come forward and purchase it. Under BDBC and Sport England policy, if it is to be developed, the owners of the land i.e Basron (71 per cent) and BDBC (29 per cent) should be responsible for equal or better replacement, i.e in the case of The Camrose, at least a step 2 stadium capable of upgrade to step 1.

READ MORE: Demolition looms: No one shows interest to buy Camrose before deadline

Of note also is that since the public enquiry which allowed the outline planning, two key points have surfaced in the last few months: the residents are much relieved that the Link Road through The Camrose ground has been scrapped by the HCC. This strip of land is owned by Basingstoke council and covers the proposed access road. This means the Basron project is now land locked with no access.

It has become obvious, and widely acknowledged that HFA Winklebury is not an equal or better replacement, nor is it adequate to meet the town’s football aspirations. It will be upgraded to FA step 3 but cannot go any higher. Hence the football club are, as we have said all along, league locked and unable to gain any promotions and play in Basingstoke. Various clubs and community groups have also lost access to this community facility.

SEE ALSO: Plans to demolish Camrose football stadium, including stands and clubhouse, lodged

Hence the Planning Inspector’s report must now be null and void.

A disappointing feature throughout this saga is the complete lack of any meaningful representation to the Basingstoke townsfolk from any Basingstoke councillor, with the previous administration actively working towards the club move to Winklebury, The first step for the new administration towards righting this wrong would be to turn down the recent application to demolish the existing buildings and give a commitment to getting The Camrose ground restored as a modern community stadium.

David Graham

Save the Camrose Campaign

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