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Week 2 - Working with the Club Dear Members and fellow supporters,
Welcome to week 2 of 20 questions. Last week we addressed the first 5 questions and thank you to everyone who made responses and comments to us – hopefully we have responded quickly, openly and fully to all those people who had further questions.
As we said last week, we have been asked, and rightly so, what we at Trust in Luton are up to and what our views are on a number of key areas concerning the Club. We totally acknowledge that in our desire to tackle the current issues facing the club, we have been very remiss in keeping you, and the wider fan base, fully up to speed on our aims. For this we sincerely apologise.
This week we tackle the very emotive issue of the club takeover and the location of the new stadium that the Club so desperately needs. We know that these issues are very difficult to discuss in a written form, so please bear in mind that whilst we have tried to take into account various angles, we cannot be exhaustive in a written answer. Therefore, please feel free to email us your views and questions, or better still, join TiL and attend the AGM where we can answer your questions in full.
We have also posted details of what you can do to help, and please bear in mind that all support, however small, is greatly appreciated. Please tell fellow supporters, friends and family so that we can ensure our membership remains strong and representative.
If you have further questions that you would like answered, please send them to info@trustinluton.org and we will do our best to post the answer on this website before our AGM.
Assuring you of our total commitment to the cause at all times,
Liam and all on the Trust in Luton Board
What is the TiL view on the takeover by Mr David Pinkney?
It is early days but Mr Pinkney has made some of his plans known. Whilst we are not necessarily in agreement with them all, we wholeheartedly support his main aim – to make Luton Town Football Club great again and one of the leading clubs in the country. We would like to see our Chairman have a positive and productive relationship with supporters, which we all know are the lifeblood of the football club.
We know that some of Mr Pinkney’s comments have been unhelpful and have upset members of all the supporter groups. However, in the spirit of doing the best for the club, we will continue to pursue a good working relationship with Mr Pinkney and his colleagues.
What information has TiL requested from Luton Town Football Club Ltd?
On this website you will see the letters we have sent to the Chairman, Mr Pinkney, where we are requesting information we are entitled to as shareholders. We are confident that Mr Pinkney will provide this information shortly and then we will be in a position to put all our members’ minds at rest that everything at the club is being run correctly.
In addition, Mr Mitchell, the Club’s CEO, made the offer of opening up the accounts books to both ourselves and a representative from Loyal Luton Supporters Club, so that we can see that the Club has been run professionally and transparently. By seeing these accounts both TiL and LLSC will be able to reassure fans as to where the proceeds from recent transfers have gone.
Obviously if there is a failure to provide this information we have a serious legal issue, and rest assured we will not be afraid to take hard decisions. (The missing information)
What is the TiL view on Jayten Stadium Ltd?
We do not see the need for a holding company when there is only one business within that holding company. In addition, we do not see the need for a holding company when the only business within it has a turnover that is relatively small. We think that a holding company, and the secrecy that company can operate under, only serves to raise suspicions and ill will. We would like to see the holding company dissolved and the ownership of the club being clear to everyone with named people, rather than a ‘mysterious’ holding company. In addition, the existence of a holding company means it is tempting for individuals of that company to enter into contracts with outside parties to the detriment of other shareholders of the football club (in this case TiL). This could cause unnecessary legal issues and claims and therefore we want this temptation removed.
Mr Mitchell, on behalf of the Club, has stated his desire to be open and transparent. On that basis, we urge the directors of Luton Town Football Club to dissolve the holding company, Jayten Stadium Ltd.
What is the TiL view on the proposed new stadium at Junction 12?
Firstly, we totally recognise the need for Luton Town Football Club to find a new home. We need a greater capacity in order to compete at the highest level and we need better facilities in all areas (training, supporters, conferencing, catering, parking etc). We have seen clubs up and down the country relocate and vastly improve their facilities, and ultimately improve the ‘product’ being offered to the paying public. Often this has been done with significant support and grants from various bodies, as well as support from the fan base.
However, we strongly feel that the proposed move to a stadium at Junction 12 is, at best, a case of the club jumping the gun. There has been no serious and professional independent feasibility study of all possible sites and our position is that this must be done - in this we are in total agreement with LLSC and many other fans. Whilst we all have our own views on where the stadium should be, until this study is done we cannot make a recommendation to TiL members based on solid and complete facts. In addition, without this study, there is no ‘Plan B’, of which more in a moment.
With regards to the location of our new home, most of our members want the club to remain in Luton itself and Luton Borough Council’s manifesto pledge is that they will help in achieving this. To date, the leader of Luton Borough Council has told us that her offer of help to the club has been ignored. We want the club to work with Luton Borough Council to assess possible sites (such as Junction 10, the old Vauxhall site, land to the south of Junction 10 etc). Only after this assessment is done can we rule out any possibility of keeping the stadium in Luton. We also urge Luton Borough Council to make a public statement on their position, especially as it was a manifesto pledge that helped secure them leadership of the council. Therefore they must be aware of how important this issue is to local people and we believe they should clearly state how they would like see their local Club proceed on the matter, what help they have offered, and what they can do.
If the club cannot be in Luton, we want the club to remain within the Luton Borough Council boundary. This assessment can take place at the same time as looking for a site in Luton itself.
Only then will we know that the club has no option but to move outside Luton. Even then, there are real possibilities of a site at the proposed Junction 11a of the M1.
Junction 12 cannot be confirmed as the only option as other sites have not been investigated to date. Our very real concern is that as the club are solely focusing on the site at Junction 12, if they fail to gain planning approval our great club will be left high and dry and will have to start from scratch all over again.
We want the club to explain why they have failed to assess other sites, why they are only focussing on Junction 12, who will gain what out of the proposal (landowner, club, Jayten Stadium Ltd, other parties), and what their ‘Plan B’ is should their application fail. This ‘Plan B’ is vital because we all know how long the planning process can take and the last place we want the club to be is back at square one if their application for Junction 12 was to fail. If the study shows that there is an alternative then we believe that this should be investigated in parallel with the Junction 12 application. If the study shows there is no alternative, then surely the Club would be in a better position if it could rely on the full support of all fans and public bodies for the Junction 12 application? The only way the club can win over the vast majority of fans is to undertake the professional, independent study we are calling for.
If, and only if, after full and independent professional assessment of all alternatives, Junction 12 is the only viable option as we are being told by the club, or it is significantly better than any other identified option, then we would recommend to our members that Junction 12 be supported. However, there is a lot of misinformation, rumour and possible fact emanating from a number of sources that only serve to give every single fan real concern over the way this issue has been approached, and just which sites may or may not be feasible. For any new stadium to be successful, we all have to understand and support any proposal that is made and we can only do that by being given the facts.
The club have stated that they will be making a planning application for the site at Junction 12 in the autumn. We will immediately analyse their proposals and report back to members on the implications.
We want the club to act properly and professionally. Therefore, if we were to speak out against any proposed site without the facts ourselves, we would be failing in our duty to members in the same way the club is failing the wider fan base now. We totally recognise this is one of the most emotive issues amongst members and fans today, and has been for a number of years, and that is why we see it as vital that we continue our demand for independent, professionally verified facts so that we can have a constructive and full debate on the issue.
Adding to all of this confusion is the approval by the Secretary of State to allow the building of a Center Parcs in mid-Bedfordshire on greenbelt. We would like the club to issue a statement on how they believe this affects their planning application and whether they see this new twist as helpful to their plans.
Doesn’t this all sound like you are on the side of directors at Luton Town Football Club?
We are on nobody’s side except that of our members, and we will defend this independence at all costs. We are purely people elected by members to put forward their views.
We have been assured face-to-face, in writing and through the media (TV and press) that there is nothing to hide at the Club – either financially, ethically or morally. At the moment we have no evidence to the contrary and therefore we should, and must, take these assurances at face value. In order to prove this, we have been publicly assured by the most senior people at the Club that we will be given access to all the financial information. Again, we have to take this at face value.
Whilst it is very frustrating in the amount of time it is taking for both us and LLSC to be able to view the information that has been promised to us by Mr Mitchell (and the information requested from Mr Pinkney by Liam Day that TiL is legally entitled to), we can assure you that if we find anything that is not in accordance with the assurances we have been given, we will be very public in our condemnation, and we will do all in our power as 10% shareholders to rectify the situation.
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