CITY STILL LEFT IN THE DARK

No confirmation on Truro return to Treyew Road

TRURO CITY’S complicated stadium plans have taken a new twist this week.

Development company Helical Retail have been planning to build a Lidl supermarket and other retail outlets on Truro’s Treyew Road ground which led to the National League South side having to groundshare at Torquay this season, 100 miles away.

But on Tuesday, Lidl told Helical they would be issuing a termination notice which would bring to an end their involvement with the development, which is still going ahead, although this means the club has the option to return home in the meantime.

Yet just hours later, Lidl reversed their decision and Jonathan Cox, on behalf of Helical, issued a six-point plan with the possibility of Truro still returning to Treyew Road until May 2019.

The statement read: “1. Lidl do not now propose to terminate their Agreement. They helpfully changed their position Tuesday afternoon (October 16).

“2. Lidl want to give the Treyew Road stakeholders the opportunity to deliver the scheme including their unit, as it is the most deliverable site in Truro for them.

“3. Any other site for Lidl will involve the full planning process and contractual negotiations, which in our opinion are likely to take at least 12 months.

Confusion

“4. The Helical Retail team have had active discussions underway with several potential funding parties and the key retailers including; Wren, Sofology, Tapi and we are waiting for feedback from them.

“5. Given the delays caused by the headwinds we have been facing, the HR team think the earliest realistic time for a start on site is May 2019 and therefore as a prin- ciple we do not have an objection to TCFC returning to Treyew Road, subject to the football club being able to play at Torquay United FC’s ground next season whilst the S4C [Stadium for Cornwall] is being built. Lidl and the other retailers will want to know that the start of construction can commence in the second quarter of next year. “6. A considerable amount of effort is ongoing to deliver the project and we remain optimistic that a way can be found through the current situation.” The club had agreed to provide £2 million towards the new Stadium for Corwall which was to come from Helical as part of the development agreement. Rugby club Cornish Pirates and Truro and Penwith College had also pledged £2m each to fund the stadium with a further £6m coming from Cornwall Council and central government. On the latest update, Truro chairman Peter Masters said: “At this point in time Truro City FC have not had the opportunity to discuss Helical’s latest position with JIL, the ground owners. We will, however, take the six points into consideration whilst making the decision to continue to play our matches at Torquay or apply to the League to return to Treyew Road. “Given that the situation appears to be fluid no date has been fixed to discuss the possible return.”

“NO DATE HAS BEEN FIXED TO THE DISCUSS POSSIBLE RETURN TO TREYEW ROAD” – Peter Truro Masters Chairman