ADDERS HOPING TO SLIDE BACK IN
OFFICIALS at Atherstone Town have their fingers crossed for a swift homecoming after working through the bulk of a council list of maintenance jobs.
The Step 5 Adders got kicked out of Sheepy Road on January 5 after dissolving the company – ATCFC Management Committee Limited – that held the lease on the stadium with North Warwickshire Borough Council.
It was a dormant company with the day-to-day business running through Atherstone Town CFC Limited. Its closure prior to checking the lease has been described as an “admin error” on the club’s part.
Since then, officials have been trying to tick all the boxes to get a new deal, including an action plan in relation to maintenance, something the club was responsible for under the old lease.
Play has continued with Wednesday’s home Midland Football League Cup tie with Lichfield City, yesterday’s clash with Stourport Swifts and Saturday’s match with Highgate United all reversed.
As things stand, the first team is next scheduled to play at home in the reverse fixture against Highgate on Saturday, February 3.
Vice-chair Maria Beale stopped short of offering a definitive timescale for a return but said the club was close to seeing through the council’s action plan.
“The council is working with us but we have a few actions to see through before they will issue the lease,” said Ms Beale.
“We had already been working on a lot of it and are working through the rest of the action plan, we have got a fair way through it. Now it is a matter of time, it is looking promising that we will be back in shortly but we just don’t know when.
“We are very optimistic that it will be resolved soon.”
She insisted there was no immediate threat to the future of the club, particularly welcome news in the week that neighbours Nuneaton Borough quit the Southern League, although a Crowdfunder page is set to be launched “in case we need a back up”.
“We have been hit financially without the home games, that is how we generate our money, but we know we will get those back once we are in,” she added.