The latest from Chairman Ben Clasper, from the programme of our Home game against Chelmsford City FC on Saturday, February 5th.

It was great to see the turnout at Hungerford Town on the weekend especially as the Highways Agency and Great Western Railway seem to conspire to make life as difficult as possible by closing the M4 and reducing the train timetable. Those present got a chance to see the new recruits signed last week and we hope you will welcome them to their new home at Champion Hill today. We finally secured the return of Ronnie Vint from Dartford and this time on a permanent transfer rather than a loan basis and he was joined on the pitch by Luca Levee who made his debut in midfield after arriving from Jamaica. Also making the squad for the first time after joining on a loan agreement from Wycombe Wanderers was Adam Leathers. After three victories in a row at Hungerford since we were promoted to the National League our run had to come to an end eventually and there were few complaints about which team deserved the three points on Saturday.

With games coming thick and fast again in February hopefully the new additions will fit in quickly and also we should start to see some of the injured list returning to action as we start a run of 7 games in 21 days today by welcoming our visitors from Chelmsford City in what is already looking like another sell out game at Champion Hill.

With the increased crowds now a regular occurrence and the efforts continuing to maintain and improve the facilities you will be pleased to know that our focus is back on progressing the new stadium which has always been ‘Plan A’ for providing a modern facility capable of addressing all of the issues that we know fans have to contend with in our current ground.
We are pleased to let you know that after a long year of meetings and discussions this week has seen a successful conclusion to the negotiations between the club, the stadium owners and Southwark Council ending with the submission last Friday of a completed Section 106 agreement to the GLA for their review and approval. For those of you without a planning background it is the planning committee decision that tells you if you can proceed but it is the section 106 agreement that come next that tells you how you can proceed. It is a comprehensive document that commits the club, the stadium owners and the council to the detail of what will be delivered and when and so ensures that all of the assurances given when the committee voted will be honoured.

The reaching of an agreement between all parties is a major accomplishment and an important gate to get through if we are going to deliver the long-term future for the club and the borough. We hope it will be received positively by the GLA and then we would expect to start the serious business of planning the construction phases once the agreement is approved and then executed by all signatories. On behalf of the club I would like to thank our director responsible for all things stadium and planning related, Mark Weatherald. Mark is about the most patient person I have worked with and the positive relationships he has created with everyone involved in the process are always a key factor in reminding people of the positives that this scheme is designed to deliver for our community even if sometimes there are differences of opinion on how that is best achieved.

We are meeting with the planning team and the leader of Southwark Council on Thursday this week after this programme will have gone to press and so will provide further updates on any outcomes from that meeting in the women’s programme tomorrow.

Our attention will now turn to completing our plans for what we need to put in place over the next two or three seasons to prepare for a new stadium and ensure that we have a club, a team and an infrastructure ready to make good on the commitments we have given to deliver the huge increase in sports provision and facilities for our borough. Our working group for stadium design will be re-starting their regular meetings and our club management team will be passing on the feedback we’ve received from fans since returning to matches so please keep that coming, it is invaluable.

I hope you enjoy today’s game and please come back tomorrow for the women’s game and get the ‘hot off the press’ news in that programme.