That NBC is a shockingly poor council there is no doubt. We are where we are in this mess due in the first place to the conduct of the organisation in the maladministration of the loan to NBC. Of course there may be more to it than the local authority's incompetence alone but 3 years on we are still waiting on that one.
Against that illustrious body we have our present owners supposedly batting for team NTFC who are as about as transparent as my bathroom window and consistently evade any questions on matters of detail. Drilling is spot on on this aspect. In trying to decide who are the "bad guys" in this scenario let's not forget that KT was less than open about the foul up he and his partner contrived to make of the invisible investment of the Chinese. KT only came clean when he was in a corner he could not get out of. For months he would have us believe all was well with 5USport and many of you, far too many, swallowed his spin hook, line and sinker.
So, now in transpires that according to the Council what KT did not disclose in his public blast of criticism of NBC is that, if you will excuse the pun, he has moved the goalposts and included in the proposal (note: we know nothing of any substance relating to his proposal, in fact we know nothing of the proposal at all) "further land". This may be of critical importance. What land and where? At least KT and DB venting their wrath through the media has forced the wretched NBC to begin to shed some light in the darkness of this cesspit.
On the matter of spin let us not be fooled into thinking that the comments made on the club's website that the owners spent lots of money on the CVA relating to CDNL solely for the benefit of the football club. Bower and Thomas now control CDNL and therefore all the land that is behind the boundary of the East Stand (yes, it appears to need to be re-drawn due to NBC's incompetence but that should be easily done) is under the control of our owners under a long lease from NBC. For those of you who have consistently taken a pop at Beds it may just be that he is right on this "land grab" topic, if not his arithmetic. Fortunately, others who post regularly on this blog appear to be alive to the issue but most come across as indifferent.
My take, for what it's worth, is that our owners have demonstrated no desire or intent to build the East Stand for the past 2 years. The failure of the Chinese partnership from whom the owners were expecting big funds has put the lid on the redevelopment coffin under our present ownership. But if our owners could get "further land" from the Council then that could possibly have been a selling point to another investor partner. That now looks unlikely. And for any potential buyer of the club a main consideration has to be the prospect of dealing with a failed council that shares with our owners one common feature, opaqueness.
Good post VC
All we ask for is clarity on either side .
There seems no doubt the stand could have been developed but hasn’t been because KT wants to make his investment worthwhile elsewhere .
I have no isssue with this but can understand why the council has , given everything that has gone on .
In the meantime , the council need to be clearer and act with transparency .