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Post by meerkat87 on May 11, 2018 14:16:31 GMT
Shouldn't this thread be (lack of) council support?!
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Post by headstone on May 11, 2018 15:19:19 GMT
I suspect the Council are bound by the valuation given by the District Valuer, which clearly includes development value. They could be criticised by their constituents if they undersold an asset. However, the football ground must provide its own amenity value, to which this extra piece of land can only add for the benefit of the community.
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Post by jdl on May 11, 2018 15:56:10 GMT
What (other) development could possibly happen there?!
How much something is 'worth' has no real connection to it's intrinsic value, or how much someone may think it's worth, its 'value' depends entirely on how much the buyer is prepared to pay for it.
Your house might have cost you £200k and you've spent £20k extending it, but if the only interested buyer is only prepared to offer £190k, then that's what it's worth.
In this case we have a similar situation - only one buyer, therefore the land is only 'worth' what MUFC want to pay for it - but with one crucial difference, the council have no need to sell that land.
The 'value' of that land therefore becomes whatever the council wants for it - it's entirely arbitrary. They could give it to the club as a goodwill gesture, or they could sell it for whatever it costs them to do the paperwork - or they can just think of a (big) number.
All MUFC can do is to try to get the council to think again by public pressure (hence Terry's quotes). But if that doesn't work, MUFC either have to pay the money, or not build the stand.
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Post by Benny on May 11, 2018 16:01:42 GMT
If landowners were only bound by development potential, the Gallagher would have been hundreds of flats years ago. Some things have a value that is more than monetary price. Such as being a local employer, all the community work with local schools, civic pride, and all the local businesses boosted by home and away fans. It's a strip of land that will never be of use to anyone else. Give it to the club free, with a sell on clause if the club ever move out.
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Post by toonarmy on May 11, 2018 16:02:05 GMT
I wonder what the ground brings to the local economy, from fans' matchday spend in town, alone (before we get into the benefits of the pitch as community asset)? £10/person/ match, easily? League, Cup and Trophy total home attendances 58,249; + KSC + PSFs getting on for 65,000 - so by my reckoning £650,000 a year and then some. I could only dream that I could spend a tenner before each home game, blimey I must contribute a lot to the traders of Maidstone, well those that serve alcohol
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2018 16:10:36 GMT
There we go, it's probably nearer a million. Take out the Society Rooms and it's about £23.50.
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Post by iamthenewno2 on May 11, 2018 16:15:31 GMT
Generally I only go to town shops, when there is a match on, pop in to HMV, Waterstones, CEX, Trash or Treasure plus one or two others otherwise I would probably mostly shop online. Not only drinking establishments helped by the Stadium being where it is.
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Post by nws on May 11, 2018 16:21:41 GMT
Sigh...here we go again. 25+ years on and MBC is still obstructive. I wonder of the former councillor who went in the paper saying that there 'was only a small band of supporters who wanted a football club in Maidstone so why should they get all the money' is still about. He didn't take up my offer of standing outside the shopping centre to ascertain whether people wanted a football club or a totem pole!
25+ years on and they are still obstructive, useless, self-serving and disinterested in Maidstone. Perhaps the money is being saved for a much-needed city bid!
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Post by Benny on May 11, 2018 16:58:50 GMT
Generally I only go to town shops, when there is a match on, pop in to HMV, Waterstones, CEX, Trash or Treasure plus one or two others otherwise I would probably mostly shop online. Not only drinking establishments helped by the Stadium being where it is. Same here. I'm always being asked to pick up bits from shops that I would never normally go into town for.
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Post by pigbag on May 11, 2018 17:10:03 GMT
I raised this matter with the new leader of the Liberal party, Martin Cox who was clearly not sympathetic. He does not accept the council benefit from the Gallagher as the increased trade does not mean the council receive any more in business rates. His case was the council have a duty to get the best price for the rate payers of Maidstone. This argument ignores the fact the council have an option to be helpful. He said the land would give access to the river which could be valuable if the ground was developed for housing in the future. This has been countered by the club who are willing to agree to an appropriate restriction being included. The Liberals do not seem to care and are still pressing for a "ransom" price for the land. Perhaps this is why they are no longer the largest party. Political pressure with a hung council may be effective at this time so discussing it with your councillor would be a good plan.
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Post by Benny on May 11, 2018 18:02:38 GMT
Or develop the Town End next and the current council gets nothing.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2018 18:13:10 GMT
I know that this will go against the whole 'Saturday afternoon at the footy' experience, but who else feels like boycotting all local businesses other than MUFC?
If other businesses start reporting significant deficits in their income, that might focus minds accordingly. Boost the income in the club bar, get your food from the in-house wagons etc...?
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2018 19:17:56 GMT
Id be curious as to what the clubs versus the councils valuation actually is At the meeting in January Terry said they had it valued and were told its worth about 500 quid. Meanwhile the council are asking for 20 grand. If those figures are accurate then Id argue the clubs valuation is way too low. I have no doubt the council are pitching for as much as they think they can get away with and as they have a duty to the taxpayer why shouldn't they? The clubs valuation if really only £500 is never going to be accepted. Its irrelevant if its just a bit if scrub land. When I wanted to buy land at the back of my house that was only big enough to park a car on, the valuation was £8000 and that was 5 years ago. Yes the council could help and probably would if it wasn't for one or two hardliners. But to expect a purchase price of £500.00 to be accepted is ridiculous
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Post by pwoodstone on May 11, 2018 19:27:30 GMT
At the meeting in January Terry said they had it valued and were told its worth about 500 quid. Meanwhile the council are asking for 20 grand. If those figures are accurate then Id argue the cubs valuation is way too low. I have no doubt the council are pitching for as much as they think they can get away with and as they hve a duty to the taxpayer why shouldn't they. The clubs valuation if really only £500 is never going to be accepted. Uts irrelevant if its just a bit if scrub land. When I wanted to buy land at the back of my house that was only big enough to oark a car on the valuation was £8000 and that was 5 years ago. Yes the council could help and probably would if it wasn't fpr one or two hardliners. But to expect a purchase price of £500.00 to be accepted is ridiculous I know what you are saying and as much as I agree with some of it, the analogy isn’t quite the same. The club are bringing a vast amount of money into the town and this should be taken into account. I think the valuation should be made, and then a discount should be offered as surely, to get some money for the land is better than the alternative - that it stays as a patch of nettles
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Post by jdl on May 11, 2018 19:46:38 GMT
Generally I only go to town shops, when there is a match on, pop in to HMV, Waterstones, CEX, Trash or Treasure plus one or two others otherwise I would probably mostly shop online. Not only drinking establishments helped by the Stadium being where it is. Same here. I'm always being asked to pick up bits from shops that I would never normally go into town for. I'm struggling with the concept of actually shopping in HMV... Did you also use to shop in Woollies and BHS? Good news, if so, because TJ Hughes is back in the Chequers!
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