HOPEFUL: Brent Peters, manager of Bacup Borough, where a councillor has questioned why lease talks are still going on
A COUNCILLOR has questioned why talks over a new lease for Bacup Borough are still ongoing - 15 months after they first began.
Bosses from the North West Counties League side have been negotiating with Rossendale Council officials over an agreement for their Westview ground.
But Independent councillor Roland Neal is concerned that the club, currently second from bottom in the first division, has only been offered a 25-year lease for the council-owned site.
He says that most major sporting funding bodies required a 75-year lease before they will award contributions to clubs or their projects.
Coun Neal told Rossendale Council meeting: "The goalposts have been moved and we are now talking about a 25-year lease arrangement.
"Anyone who knows anything about sport and sports funding will tell you that funding bodies, such as Sport England, require at least 75-year leasing arrangements.
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"It does not impact on the council if the football club goes under because then the council gets the land back."
The councillor said that the requirement was necessary to bring British sports funders more in line with their European counterparts.
Coun Bill Challinor, who represents the Greenclough ward where Westview stands, has been involved in the lease negotiations.
He told the meeting that initially the club had first been offered a 25-year lease, at £1,500, but this had then been revised to a peppercorn rate, for a similar period.
Only then had concerns been raised about the possibility of needing a 75-year lease, said Coun Challinor.
He added: "This has been investigated by our officers to see whether it is feasible. According to the leisure trust most organisations do not require more than 18 years and some require even less.
"What we have been doing is safeguarding this very valuable piece of land and community facility."
Coun Neal has called for the lease situation to be reviewed.
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