CITY FANS MUST GO IT ALONE ON LEGAL APPEAL

WORCESTER City fans will not get the club’s backing if they wish to appeal against a local council decision to again refuse planning permission for a new stadium.

The Midland League Premier Division title favourites have told their supporters’ trust that they will not be backed in any appeal to Whitehall over Worcester City Council planning committee’s decision to throw out the three-year-old scheme for Perdiswell Park.

Worcester City Supporters’ Trust said it will launch an appeal in a bid to gain permission for their proposed 4,400-seat stadium. City planning officers have already warned councillors that the local authority faces a hefty legal bill if the trust wins the appeal.

But the club itself issued a statement saying it would not appeal against the committee’s decision – and instead aims to work with the council on plans for a new home at Parsonage Way elsewhere in the city.

In a statement, the club’s directors said: “The costs for such an appeal could be well in excess of £50,000 requiring a planning barrister to take the process to its conclusion without any guarantee of success or reimbursement of fees, in the unlikely event that the appeal is determined in favour.

“If the trust insist on carrying on with their appeal they will be doing so without the backing of the football club.”

But supporters’ trust chairman Rich Widdowson said: “We believe the decision to refuse the application was purely political and not based on planning reasons. The fact the current chairman of the football club is not backing it is irrelevant.”

Worcester are groundsharing at Bromsgrove Sporting again this season.