The 'Southwark News' ran a news story & editorial today on the future of our ground & how the uncertainty affects ourselves & Fisher FC

There was a two piece news investigation special in today's edition of the 'Southwark News', entitled 'THE FUTURE OF NON-LEAGUE'. There were several different articles across pages ten and eleven, as well as an editorial comment on page two.

We start with the editorial:

Save Dulwich Hamlet and Fisher

Not for the first time, over-development is threatening to have a detrimental impact on our borough.
Sport and recreation in any built up city is vital to the wellbeing of its residents-the very idea that we could have the unwanted distinction of having two football teams and two unused stadiums would clearly mark us out as a borough more interested in a quick sale than one looking to secure a sustainable future for our residents.
Dulwich Hamlet and Fisher Football Clubs are institutions in their own right. Falling gate sales and a lack of investment into the clubs should not mean that we wash our hands of either or both of them. Fisher in Rotherhithe has remained empty for years-since they went to groundshare with Dulwich Hamlet- yet this ground is a designated Metropolitan Open Space. And Dulwich Hamlet fans have been told that a strategy of relocating Champion Hill stadium onto the Greendales site behind the current ground is a non-starter.
The council argues that the club in their current lease has not looked after it at all.
We might just have two years to come up with a plan and there is little doubt that this is a complex legal battle, but the principle of the Metropolitan Open Space system is there to protect parts of any borough from inappropriate development. In the Mayor's London Plan it clearly stipulates that one of the criteria is 'land that includes open air facilities, especially for leisure, recreation, sport, arts and cultural activities and tourism which serve the whole or significant parts of London.'
As part of our Olympic legacy we should look to develop both grounds, to act as a network to encourage many of the grassroots and youth football teams such as Docklands to feed through our non-league sides and link on to Millwall-which has a fine history of developing new talent. This has been done in the past-but without the middle men-in this case Fisher and Dulwich Hamlet-it wil lbe far more difficult to achieve.

On to the main, feature, the future of non-league. The primary heading was:

Football's not coming home...could teams lose stadium?

Fans' fear over future of Hamlet and Fisher grounds

Dulwich Hamlet and Fisher Football clubs could be homeless in just two years' time if deals aren't done to save their stadiums from developers, fans fear.
The borough could have the unwanted distinction of having two football teams and two unused stadiums once the lease Hamlet has on Champion Hill, where fisher FC also play, runs out in 2015.
Dulwich are the longest continuous serving members of the Isthmian League and have been connected with the area since 1893. Fisher were reinvented in 2009 as a fans owned club but were originally founded in 1908 in the north of Southwark.
This week the council has ruled out a strategy of relocating the Champion Hill stadium onto the Greendales site behind the current ground, a move Dulwich Hamlet was keen to explore.
DHPD Ltd, the former freeholders of Champion Hill-which is separate from both clubs-went into administration last year. This has cast a shadow over the future of the east Dulwich ground.
The site is now being offered by administrators Harris Lipman to prospective investors and developers for the best price it can get for creditors of DHPD.
Both football clubs could be left without a stadium if a new freeholder chose not to renew the existing Champion Hill lease with Hamlet.
With Surrey Docks Stadium in Rotherhithe,the former home of Fisher Athletic which has been empty since 2004, not currently a viable option for fisher FC to return to, their future may lie outside Southwark.
Cllr Veronica Ward, the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, has told the News that the council will do all in its powers to secure the futre of both clubs.
Shesaid: "We want them to continue, of ocurse we do. In so far as the powers we have to enable us to do that, which are quite complex legally, we want them to continue."
The council is the freeholder on the greendales site, a large space directly behind the Champion Hill ground, and Hamlet lease the site from them for astroturf pitches.
The club has stated that building a stadium on that site would save them, as developers could them build on the current stadium site without threatening their future.
But the Greendales deal between the council and Hamlet expires in 2015, and Cllr Ward has made it clear a stadium move to that site is a non-starter. She said: "Our property division have made it clear that the council would not allow a stadium to be built on the present Greendales site as a replacement for the present stadium.
"It is Metropolitan Open Land and the club have not kept their side of the argument in terms of the current lease of the land. They have not looked after it at all. At the moment we might re-grant a lease for the astroturf training pitch [a section of Greendales], but there is no final agreement on that yet."
Yasmine Dawson, General Manager at Dulwich Hamlet, stated if the stadium deal was off the table Hamlet would need firmer commitments from the council or the worst could happen.
She told the News: "It's difficult for us. The council say they wish to support us but they are not if they take away Greendales. That could put us in a position where we are homeless in 2015."
She added: "A practical way they could back us is to give us a bit more of Greendales around the astroturf so we can turn it into a good revenue stream, so we can exist where we are. Ideally they could also help us nowby making it clear to any potential buyers of the ground freehold they would refuse any planning permission to build on our current pitch, whether that be properties or a school or whatever."
The fans of both clubs, meanwhile, must sit and wait to see if a deal can be struck between the council and the club on Greendales, to secure cash-flow into Hamlet.
They then must discover the intentions of any new freeholder who buys the Champion Hill ground as it will dictate their future.
Eddie Muraszko, Chairman of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust, said: "Dulwich Hamlet supporters will probably read councillor Ward's comments with mixed feelings. The very public declaration of support for the continuation of the club is welcome. The downside is that the stated preferred long term option of the club's owner [to move to a new stadium on Greendales] predictably continues to be a complete non-starter. The worry is that those interested in buying the freehold of the ground don't realise just how limited any scope of likely permitted development across the site may be and end up buying ap ig in a poke."
The News contacted Hillman Lipman, the administrators overseeing the sale of the Champion Hill freehold, for comment, but they did not respond before we went to press.

There was also an article with a Fisher angle:

'Fisher must be in any plans'

Fisher FC's wish to return to their heartland has secured the backing of a key Cabinet Member, who stated the council would do everything they could to support the club's homecoming to Rotherhithe and Bermondsey.
Speaking to the News, Veronica Wars, the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, made it clear any developers wishing to build on Surrey Docks Stadium in Salter Road, Rotherhithe, must involve Fisher FC. The football club has always wished to return to the north of Southwark, as it believes it will not grow without such a move.
When asked of the club's role in any Surrey Docks Stadium redevelopment the Cabinet member said: "They [Fisher FC] have to be part of the futre, don't they. It's Metropolitan Open Land [MOL] so you can dream of building on it but it's MOL. We do need all our open spaces, particularly those that are designated at the highest level [of protection] as an open space. The space is a stadium, a sports ground and a football pitch." She added: "We will do whatever we can do within our powers, that Fisher will want us do, when we get to that point."
Cllr Ward stated she believed the categorisation of the ground as MOL was a virtually hard and fast guarantee in protecting it from development.
Ben Westmancott, Fisher FC Chairman, said: "We welcome the invitation to be part of the beginnings of discussions about the redevelopment of Salter Road." He added: "We have an excellent opportunity to make a real difference. I feel the momentum increasing and am heartened by the number of people joining ranks and adding their support to bringing Fisher home. If we get this right, we can all say that we have been part of creating a real legacy for the people of rotherhithe and Bermondsey. Let's not miss this great opportunity to bring football home."
The News approached BNP Paribas Real Estate, the adminstrators handling the sale of Surrey Docks Stadium, but they chose to make no comment.

Below that was another piece, trying to explain who everyone was, and what's what, in the whole affair:

Who's who at Champion Hill

Dulwich Hamlet-A football club established in 1893 who play in the Ryman South division, four promotions from professional football, at Champion Hill. They are not in administration and are well placed for promotion. Their Champion Hill ground lease expires in2015.

Fisher FC- A supporter-owned club established in 2009 after Fisher Athletic, founded in 1908, was wound up. They are tenants at Champion Hill but wish to return to Surrey Docks Stadium on Salter Road, Rotherhithe. They play one level below Dulwich in the non-league system.

DHPD Ltd-The company who were freeholders of Champion Hill before going into administration in 2012. The last named director, and major shareholder, according to a Harris Lipman administration report in November 2012 is Sami Muduroglu.

Northfleet Ltd- Appointed Harris Lipman as administrators after DHPD Ltd went into administration. A company based in the Isle of Man of whom little is known.

Harris Lipman-Administrators who are overseeing the sale of Champion Hill and who will seek the best possible return for creditors after DHPD went into administration.

Greendales-The area behind Champion Hill stadium including the artificial football pitches. Southwark Council are freeholders and Dulwich Hamlet are leaseholders for this space. The lease expires in 2015. A key source of income for Hamlet comes from these pitches, the club claims.

Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust- An independent fans' group founded in 2003 seeking to secure the club's future. A £23k fund they have established was raised partly to buy shares in Dulwich in order to gain transparency of finances. That deal has not yet been reached.

Surrey Docks Stadium-The former home of Fisher Athletic, on Salter road in Rotherhithe, which has been derlict since 2004. Plans to renovate have been refused since then and Fisher FC hope to move back there in the futre.

BNP Paribas Real Estate- Administrators of the sale of Surrey Docks stadium. It appears they have found a buyer for the site, who has not yet been named.

Southwark Council-Freeholders of Greendales and the plannig authority who oversee committees, who have the final say on the future of both stadium sites.

The final piece of the lengthy coverage an opinion from a supporter behind the goal, with a Dulwich Hamlet perspective:

View from the fans

Mishi Morath is a familiar face at Champion Hill and is well known on the non-league football scene. He has supported Dulwich Hamlet for 39 years and here he gives his views on the future of his beloved club.

Dulwich Hamlet are a club buzzing on the terraces and on the pitch at the moment. I've never know in all my years, being a fan since 1974, such a mixed, all embracing fan base.
Crowds are on the up and will build even more. It's no coincidence that we offer the best concession deals in our league for kids, unwaged, students & seniors.
We could make more money by scrapping that, but it's something to be proud of. We have been part of our community since 1893, and now into the 21st century we are embracing that as a club. Our fans even have links all over Europe, with strong friendships in Belgium & Germany!
But in the background the worry of the ground looms. I honestly don't care if we play on a new one on greendales, or elswhere in the area, as long as we survive in our Dulwich heartland.
But what we really want is to STAY at Champion Hill, which is our home, on the site of our great old amateur stadium, which the current one replaced in 1992.
Other non-league sides have strong links with their local councils and together we can build proper community facilities on Greendales alongside our ground.
I just hope the Club are not punished for the mistakes of past owners.