Liberal Democrat council members have demanded more investigation into the involvement of council leaders in the scandal that prevented Gateshead FC from qualifying for the National League playoffs.
Due to concerns over the future of Gateshead International Stadium, the Heed’s home field, they were not given the opportunity to compete for promotion to the English Football League (EFL) at the end of the previous season.
Town opposition council members demanded on Monday that a fresh report outlining correspondence between the National League, the EFL, the club, and the Labour-run local authority be put together.
It comes after Labour council members rejected a plan last month that would have required any future operator of the Heed to enter into a 10-year tenancy; council leader Martin Gannon called the proposal “ridiculous” and said it would put the city at risk of legal action.
“When we debated this at the last full council, the leader [Coun Gannon] said there was correspondence that any individual member could look at,” Coun Beadle stated. This would give the chance for what we believe is a more formal review rather than just individual members looking at it.
Council bosses say that the stadium is currently running at a deficit of more than £800,000 a year, which Coun Gannon said in May was an “unsustainable” number for a local authority facing a £50 million deficit over the next five years.
Leave a Reply