Talks aimed at resolving a bitter row between St Johnstone Football Club and Perth and Kinross Council have broken down.
Saints hinted last month they were about to drop an objection to controversial multi-million-pound roadworks near their McDiarmid Park home.The club’s opposition to a council land-grab bid has been the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the so-called Crematorium Road project which could unlock new development land at Inveralmond and Bertha Park, creating thousands of homes and jobs.But after further negotiations, St Johnstone have decided to press ahead with their challenge.Chairman Steve Brown has submitted fresh paperwork to Scottish Ministers leading a public inquiry into the council’s compulsory purchase bid.He has confirmed to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals that the club will be taking part in next month’s hearing.“As with all smaller professional football clubs, it is a constant struggle to generate and maintain income levels sufficient to maintain the stadium, grounds, training facilities and of course players and staff salaries,” Mr Brown notes in his hearing statement.“All the ancillary business activities are therefore crucial to the overall viability of St Johnstone Football Club.“The proposed compulsory land-take and the construction of a major distributor road immediately adjacent to the stadium, which will create unquantifiable disturbance during football matches and other club events andfunctions, will combine to have a seriously detrimental impact on the club’s operations, specifically on footballing prospects and generally on business viability.”He said the new road would result in the loss of a crucial training pitch.“If it were lost, it could not be replaced elsewhere within our ownership and we would be forced into finding an alternative location off-site which would be much less satisfactory from an operational point of view.“The disadvantages of an off-site alternative would increase in direct proportion to the distance it is from the present pitch.”Negotiations have centred on possibly altering the new road layout to allow the training pitch to be reconfigured.A council spokeswoman said talks were ongoing.In its submission to the inquiry, the local authority states: “The council’s position is that it has responded in detail to all of the issues that have been raised by St Johnstone Football Club. It has corresponded with and has had detailed discussions with the objectors.”An inquiry into the council’s takeover bid will be held at Perth’s Royal George Hotel from Monday November 9.