Great News - Major Breakthrough

[Margate Don]

This on the MFC site. So it's not final but it is encouraging and let's all get behind the club and see this as the positive sign that it is.

 

Latest News

The Football Club Directors, representatives of our development company and senior officials of Thanet District Council had a further meeting on Monday 19 July 2004.

 

The purpose of the meeting was to attempt to finalise the negotiations surrounding the issues still unresolved within the Heads of Terms agreement. This agreement once signed by all parties will allow the Clubs proposed redevelopment of Hartsdown Park to move forward.

 

A very constructive meeting resulted in all sides committed to reaching a solution, which will allow the Heads of Terms to be entered shortly.

 

This news is considered by the Directors as a major breakthrough in negotiations and has resulted in part of the required funding to be released to the Club allowing the Club to commence preparations for next Season.

 

Cash flow over the next few weeks will be vital to secure our long-term future and the Directors will concentrate all of their efforts on bringing much needed revenue to the Club. They hope this latest news will prompt the sale of Season Tickets and Sponsorships, as we prepare for next Season

 

Up the Gate

 

20 Jul 2004 by Media

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Oh dear what a disappointment. i dont see this as a step forward. just ANOTHER one of those ok lets get things going meetings where all goes quiet for another 2 months after. oh dear oh dear. ITS OVER. basically the council probably said look you need to submit a business plan. we knew that was the goal both sides needed for months so why is this news? this is a big balls up.

[Edinburgh Exile]

Agree that we are still not as far forward as most of us would like, but this must have been a significant meeting otherwise the funders would not have released some money to us. After all we are only a business opportunity to them so why would they chuck money at us if they thought there was no prospect of them seeing it again ?

 

Keep the faith.

[Guest]

That is true, though it'll be interesting to see what TDC have to say (if anything).

[Guest]

hang on it doesnt say who has released part of the funding or where it has even come from. carefully worded, carefully worded!

[Guest]

well its vaguely positive and lets hope it all works out well.

 

Outside of the major matter of agreeing H of T (which are not legally binding anyway and often are rode roughshod over when comes to actual legal agreement)i still have a bit of an issue with the presentation of the press release .

The arrogance is still there alongside, and it almost appears that the club feel they have a god given right to sponsorship and support despite alienating most people over the last 12 months.

Respect and support needs to be earned-it is not a tap to turn on and off.

To me there is so much bridge building to be done with supporters and i am sure local business.

 

I wish all well with this and don't wish to be negative-as another post said-i've tried to have a half full glass for 12 months, but i get the feeling that the club do not grasp how they have alienated people by the lack of info-even bad news-that still wins the sympathy vote.

we will continue to support but maybe fewer of us will support financialy -however small- without question , involvement and particularly respect.

 

Having said that, i genuinely hope that i am alone in my feelings and that the club attract substantial sponsorship

 

[Cookie]

Its the council doing the blocking.For goodness sake grasp that fact will you all? They have had what they have asked for on several occasions but they put other barriers in our way.With the councils co-operation and honesty we could have been back at hartsdown months ago.The council DO have a plan and with us out of the way they will inforce that plan.Maybe not immediately but they will.Just watch and listen for THIER developments for hartsdown park.Those plans will out soon mark my words.

[Guest]

Do you really consider that the Club would have let this run on for 2 years, if it was all down to the Council blocking it and the right plans had been submitted.

 

Short memory but the Council said back in Oct /Nov that no plans/poor plans had been submitted. The Club did not dispute this, they publicly said they were submitting news plans.

 

What private company would not argue that the Plans submitted were acceptable if they indeed were. The Club did not argue with this.

 

Don't forget that the Club managed to run this affair for 18 months, without realising that the company working for them has not submitted any Plans!!!

 

Can't see how you come to your conclusion and if it is correct that the Council have a "Plan", then why are the Directors's putting out 'positive' news. Are you suggesting they do not know what you appear to know??

[Cookie]

The club come up with the nessasary documents and information and then the council, seeing that its all o.k. quickly come up with an additional piece required so as to stall until we drop. This has been an on-going activity I.M.O. and hence we come to the situation that we find ourselves in right now. . staring at the end of a football club. No one is going to question the council as they should be in the know and their continual "moving of goalposts" MUST be correct therefore the club have to try and up-date their requirements when in fact the correct procedures and data have in fact ALREADY been submitted previously for the requirements that were needed. This is the piece where the council are overdoing things and for doing so will be taken to explain their continued re-requirements at a public meeting and if not at one of those but by the appropiate bodies that will judge their actions, their constant delaying tactics and continued unnessasary added requirements. This is my view and my view alone and though am unable to prove all this at this time am extremely confident that the facts WILL eventually come out and will go some way to proving to all that my views will be more of the reality rather than the opinion and that at the end of the day the council WILL be held responsible for our decline and hopefully be made to pay by whatever means available for their mis -givings and false addition requirements and that even their actions may be more than malpractice but bordering on the illegal in some way. Unless they change their attitude I will forever continue to mistrust them and even then would still not trust them. Nothing positive has come from them at any time, has it? Its all waffle and words but never any action. Them wanting 10 million up front from the investors surely must be illegal and this is just oneof their ways where they are running out of requirements thereby shifting their mode to prevent us from going further. Did they ask westwood cross's companies to stamp up the nessasary funds before the o.k. to buld. . NO! Did they ask for the nessasary funds for the turner centre to be up front before the o.k. to build. NO! You tell me where there is ANY positive action from this council? Are these requirements against the law in any way.I think its possible.

[Guest]

Sorry cookie but you are wrong.

 

TDC have not received proper business plans for the re-development of Hartsdown Park.

 

You can believe what you like but the reality is that it is up to Margate FC to submit proper plans. Until they do that, no progress can be made.

 

The sad fact is that Margate should have gradually improved Hartsdown Park after the Fulham match. Replacing the old stand and improving the Coffin End in the Southern Premier days would have allowed the club to improve the home end in your first or second Conference season, as well as the minor improvements that were made to the open side terrace. The plans have been too big. Gradual improvements like that would have kept the club in Conference National.

 

I fear for your future but you have a lifeline in Kinnear. However, he can't stay forever in these circumstances. There has been no progress during the last two years.

 

Best of luck to you next season. I hope you manage to keep as many of your players as possible and get the ball rolling on the ground issue.

[Guest]

Let's put it this way then.

If TDC block the rebuilding of Hartsdown over concerns of finance(their main arguement so far) then they WILL be reported to the Local Govt Ombudsman over the ill fated white elephant called the Turner Contemporary Art Centre(or whatever they now call it following another £100,000 party in London)

It does not work both ways

[Guest]

I would have thought that TDC would prefer half a football ground to what they have at the moment which is a bar. If Heads of Terms are not agreed there is a LONG way to go and I bet that the Club is dependent on being local by Xmas at worst to keep going.

 

As to Turner Whatever - it IS a complete fiasco, but KCC and others are involved and no-one can point solely at TDC on this one.

 

 

[Cookie]

The ratepayers can and rightly so!

[Guest]

Why is it that when I think of Sandy Ezekiel I have this image of that former Tory Councillor Cyril Hoser.

Now what ever happened to him???

[Cookie]

Think he departed from this world.Think it best to let this one go dont you think.

[Guest]

It just goes to show that all it's ever been is a money making scheme by those unknown. The ground seems just a side issue as no doubt is the team.