Baring in mind Cockle43 is a Councillor and would be in the know, I would say it is very much to do with the club.
I am in a position to confirm that the two items on the agenda will be Fossetts/Stadium and the redevelopment of Roots Hall. I have cleared that with the Principal Democratic Services Officer.
If DCC approves then there is still the strong possibility of the Secretary of State calling it in, this happened with previous application, 2008?, when SoS called in and then approved.
If DCC rejects application then Club/RM can go to appeal; if he/Club wins then SBC are responsible for all their costs, this can be very expensive so is not something done lightly, or at least shouldn't be...
The reason the meeting is down as provisional is procedural in that the Planning Officers reports to DCC have not yet been signed off for publication, it is unlikely that there will be further delay but one can never be certain in these situations.
Given the amount of time and discussion that has gone on over these reports and submissions I would suggest that they are probably about as squeaky clean as it is possible to be and that the Planning officer's recommendations to DCC will also be very sound.
Incidentally, any Councillor who is a season ticket holder, holds SUFC shares or is a regular attender at games is disbarred from voting on the matter and I'll explain below.
Such matters of bias or pre-determination are taken very seriously and this is the guidance issued to Councillors for their conduct in this matter by the Executive Director for Legal and Democratic Services, aka the Borough Solicitor:-
I need to repeat advice I have given previously about Interests:
- Councillors who are SUFC season ticket holders will have a disqualifying non-pecuniary interest in matters directly relating to SUFC. In my view this applies to the applications referred to above since they are directly related to SUFC’s plans for a new stadium at Fossetts Farm and the redevelopment of the existing stadium at Roots Hall. This will necessitate withdrawing from DCC while the applications are considered.
- A councillor who is a very regular attender at SUFC matches will be in the same position as a season ticket holder;
- Of course, a councillor could have an interest in either application for other reasons (e.g. as a shareholder of SUFC, or living in close proximity to Roots Hall or Fossetts Farm) and I will be pleased to give individual advice if required.
I would also mention the subject of Predetermination and Bias:
- Members of DCC need to avoid any appearance of bias or having predetermined views when making a decision on a planning application.
- They must consider all material planning considerations, including representations received, before making a decision.
- A member of DCC who makes a definitive statement in advance of DCC that they will approve or refuse an application indicates they have a closed mind and so should not participate in the decision-making.
Statements of predisposition towards a particular outcome will not disqualify. However, it is better for members of DCC to be on the safe side and not make statements in advance about the acceptability or otherwise of a planning application.'
This guidance was also issued before the subject coming up in the Full Council meeting back in last December which is why I, and several others, had to leave the Teams call while the matter was discussed. Such things are normal process and if you have attended any meetings you will have seen members declaring their interests before a meeting, or even during it if something is mentioned in which they might have an interest.
Just one further clarification. DCC only determines planning and will approve or reject on clearly defined planning matters only, nothing else. The financials, etc., to date were dealt with at the Council meeting last December because that is a Council function not a planning function, DCC is where the planning bit is decided.
Hope that helps and, as you will appreciate, that is about as far as I can comment, at least for the time being.