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What it means is that if the Council decides that the Cub are in breach of the leases then they can be kicked out. Without a ground the club would fold. Anyone else who may want to run a football team affiliated to the FA could then try to get a lease.

It is nothing to do with planning permission although many supporters think that the Council have already done a back door deal with the new owners to run the club down so that they can redevelop the site for housing and all make a big profit

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What it means is that if the Council decides that the Cub are in breach of the leases then they can be kicked out. Without a ground the club would fold. Anyone else who may want to run a football team affiliated to the FA could then try to get a lease.

It is nothing to do with planning permission although many supporters think that the Council have already done a back door deal with the new owners to run the club down so that they can redevelop the site for housing and all make a big profit

 

Haven't the Council previously gone on record to say that they would prefer that football stays at Edgar Street? If HUFC go under and the leases revert back to The Council then could they not assign them to a new phoenix Club if the proposal passed any due diligence that would be required? 

 

I'm sure selling off the whole lot would earn more for the Council (and we all know they are strapped) but there is already a seemingly viable option on the table to start again ... Which would fit in with the wish of football to remain ... 

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megilleland, on 22 Jun 2014 - 09:10, said:

 

 
A good read about what went wrong and who was involved. Our council should take note - before they get out of their depth with Edgar Street and cost us more money.
 
Hereford Times: Friday 18th July 2014 in News By Bill Tanner
 
HEREFORDSHIRE Council has admitted that no “separate†due diligence report was done on the financial state of Hereford United ahead of the ground leases being re-assigned.
 
But the council is standing by its actions as landlord to the club saying an “appropriate level†of due diligence was carried out, but has not outlined the extent of how it was carried out.
 
The admission comes ahead of this morning’s full council meeting and questions due to be asked about the council’s culpability in the current crisis facing the club. . . 

 

They obviously didn't note this post a month ago. These councillors really need to visit Hereford Voice a bit more often.

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Updated 12:19pm Friday 18th July 2014 in News Hereford Times By Bill Tanner

 
ONE of the three people to sign off the Heads of Terms for re-assigned leases on Hereford United’s Edgar Street ground was the former chief executive of Hereford Futures Jonathan Bretherton.
 
Mr Bretherton’s signature is the first on the document, with the signatures of Geoff Hughes, Herefordshire Council’s director of places and communities, and David Keyte, then owner of Hereford United below.
 
 Mr Bretherton signed  on April 26 2012 and Mr Hughes and Mr Keyte on April 30 2012.
 
The council and club are parties to the Heads of Terms in respect of “an agreement to lease and new ground leases of current football club stadium and adjoining enabling development land.â€
 
Mr Bretherton is currently on a round Britain sailing voyage.
 
Confirmation of the signatures strengthens the links between the council, the club and the situation the club finds itself in. . . .
 
 
. . . As reported by the  Hereford Times earlier this year, Herefordshire Council has paid out nearly £3 million in financial support to HF over years.
 
The council has denied that the sum shows HF as having been “exclusively funded†by the public sector, either directly or indirectly, throughout its existence.
 
However, the council has conceded the appearance of  having “wholly funded†HF since 2012.

 

What else is going on? To think these people tell us they have the interest of the city at heart? Lies.

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Sailing around Blighty! Good bloody grief. I hope his bloody boat springs a leak after hitting rocks and he's washed up off Morecambe bloody beach in the middle of a vast cockle picking operation that sees him forced to pick bloody cockles by some ruthless Gangmaster who happens to support Hereford United, reads the bloody Hereford Times and is fully aware that his rotten signature is upon the aforementioned document.

And they wonder why we bloody moan!

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I've been reading the updates from Bill Tanner with interest ...

 

He reports that there is a question mark over new shares being issued without proper procedure being followed. Also the Council are still appearing very vague about what due diligence was carried out when the leases were re-assigned. There must be paperwork involved here surely?

 

Then we have a Councillor apparently suggesting that somebody from outside (even the Police) should come in independently to have a mooch about to find out what's going on ... I'm sure the Police would get involved if someone approached them with a credible complaint of criminal activity. But I doubt they would get involved in a 'fishing trip' on the back of of an internet moan.

 

And then we have my current Councillor for Aylestone, Nick Nenadich, who is actually on the Council and, until recently, was a director at Hereford United. So quite handy for an inside track on all on this? 

 

The answers can't be that hard to find. It's all so very recent stuff. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Listening to Hereford & Worcester Radio this morning and this Elliott Webb chappie is winding me up with his interview technique or lack of it concerning the Hereford United saga. His approach of asking someone their view, and then directly contradicting their point, he then gets the next caller who has the opposite of the first caller, and then contradicts their view. Instead of moving the interview along with some investigative journalism. The programme just passes time and achieves nothing in the long run. We are seeing this in all areas of the media - local and national news sources broadcasting the same conveyor news that the government are feeding them. I reckon this a deliberate ploy to distract the masses from the real issues that are ruining peoples' lives.

 

I listen to UK Column and people say you are a nutcase, believing what they tell you, regarding what they tell us is really going on in the country and beyond. The problem is, we already believe what the BBC tell us and anyone who contradicts their presentations, must be mad. Having heard on Radio 4 today that the government is going to allow fracking in National Parks, I know who I think is mad.

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logo-article4x3295-229432_478x359.jpg

 

 

An explanation behind our Twitter picture.

We understand that some fans have requested an explanation regarding our picture on Twitter showing players having a traditional Islamic meal (See the picture here). Our club and other clubs are made up of multinational members and we wish to support equality in football, the picture was taken during the holy month of Ramadan, a period where millions of Muslims will fast. 

As a club we support any players choice to follow this holy period however not all footballers will carry out the fast or will choose different methods, some will eat before matches and make up for it later. Top flight players follow this logic as reported by the Independent

It is a choice made by the individual, we apologise to those who were offended. 

If you would like further information on Ramadan or other faith related issues around football, contact The FA’s Equality Department on equality@TheFA.com

Read more at http://www.herefordunited.co.uk/news/article/football-and-ramadan-1785849.aspx#MgRE6t0msjPCkBIa.99

 

 

 

Hereford United Official Site

 

I think HUFC are not helping themselves here. They post pictures on Twitter (out of the blue and on the embedded link) of the players' enjoying an 'Islamic Meal' which a lot of people could interpret as being in breach of Ramadan. There was no context in the initial Tweet at all. Plus I doubt many people (other than avid followers of all things HUFC) know who the current staff or players' are! It would have been far easier to avoid bringing a religious context to The Club at this time I feel ... 

 

By the way this subject crops up all the time in sport. London Olympics is one example ... 

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A couple of HUFC supporters have put in FoI requests to the council.  This is interesting because the Hereford Times only seem to be pursuing the new owners for answers, not the council.

 

One asked for a list of meetings and attendees of meetings between HUFC (1939) and Herefordshire Council.  

 

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/219777/response/543505/attach/html/3/FOI%20IAT%207817%20LA%20Prov%2028.07.14.doc.html

 

The other asks for minutes of meetings at which leases were discussed.  The council response is that there were never any minutes taken at any of the meetings.  This is a standard cover-up response but if true, in my opinion, shows gross negligence when dealing with an issue with importance on many levels.

 

Back to the list of meetings.  

 

 

17th June 2014

Richard Howard, Cllr Johnson, Jon Hale, Chris Williams, Phil Pratt, Phil Eynon, Tony Featherstone

16th June 2014

Alistair Neill, Cllr Johnson, Cllr Bramer, Andrew Lonsdale, Thomas Agombar

3rd June 2014

Andrew Lonsdale, Thomas Agombar, Mr Power, Geoff Hughes, Tony Featherstone, Ian Higgs, Andrew Ashcroft

1st May 2014

David Keyte, L Adams, T Lewis, A Lonsdale, Geoff Hughes, Thomas Agombar

 

 

23rd April 2014

Geoff Hughes, David Keyte, Ian Higgs, Anthony Featherstone, David Price and 3 associates

25th February 2014 (telephone conference)

Ian Higgs, Kultar Khangura, Sonya Knight, Geoff Hughes

24th February 2014

David Keyte, S Murrall, Jed McCrory, Geoff Hughes

20th January 2014

David Keyte, Cllr Johnson, Cllr Bramer, Geoff Hughes

13th January 2014

David Keyte, John Kelly, Geoff Hughes

7th January 2014

Ian Higgs, Bob Pritchard

6th January 2014

Ian Higgs, Bob Pritchard, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura

3rd January 2014 (telephone conference)

Bob Pritchard, Ian Higgs, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura, Geoff Hughes, David Keyte

17th December 2013 (telephone conference)

David Keyte, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura, Ian Higgs, Geoff Hughes

11th December 2013 (telephone conference)

Ian Higgs, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura, Geoff Hughes, David Keyte

2nd December 2013 (telephone conference)

Ian Higgs, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura, Geoff Hughes

27th November 2013 (telephone conference)

David Keyte, Fiona Thomson, Kultar Khangura, Geoff Hughes

26th November 2013

Cllr Johnson, Bob Pritchard, David Keyte, Tony Featherstone, Cllr Bramer, Ian Higgs, Geoff Hughes

20th November 2013

Ian Higgs, Bob Pritchard

16th October 2013

Ian Higgs, Paul Tucker

18th September 2013

Ian Higgs, Bob Pritchard

9th September 2013

David Powell (details of other attendees not recorded)

6th September 2013

David Powell, Jonathan Bretherton, Ian Higgs, Kultar Khangura

14th August 2013

Bob Pritchard, David Powell 

 

 

Some of the cast: Kultar Khangura:  external solicitor who worked on the ESG development for the council

Ian Higgs: Council in-house solicitor

Geoff Hughes, Tony Johnson, Bramer etc: you all know and love

Fiona Thomson: HUFC solicitor

Bob Pritchard: Non exec HUFC director

Tony Featherstone: Council manager (assets etc)

 

Some context and comments:

Bretherton only attended one meeting, in September, yet was was of the signatories on behalf of the council on the lease contract

The lease contract was signed on 12th or 13th Feb (the HUFC website announced it on 13th Feb).

On 24th Feb, Geoff Hughes was meeting Jed McCrory - Agombar's associate.  He was therefore the shadowy individual only referred to until now as a "senior council officer".

 

No idea who Sonya Knight is - the only one I can find is a director of a possibly dissolved construction company called Trident.  Please feel free to add to the explanation of the cast list.

 

Another point - this number of meetings of highly paid people including solicitors must have cost the council (us) a fortune.  And add to that Cllr Johnson's travel expenses from the edge of the county.  You almost feel sorry for the new owners - it's bad enough finding out the true financial picture of the club you've just bought but to then deal with the shifty quagmire of Herefordshire Council politics and intrigues must make them wish they'd stayed in London.

 

Excellent work from the FoI requesters.  And an unusually fast response from the council.

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Council apparently meeting HUFC today (Tuesday) at 2pm to decide on whether the ground is going to be approved for a safety certificate. It currently hasn't got one. First home game is scheduled for this Saturday ...

 

Hereford Times

 

Did the ground have a safety certificate in May when the last games of last season were being played?  If so, what has changed?  Either games were held without the required certificates and insurance under the old regime, or the new regime should be given the same documentation.  If the old regime were operating without safety documentation then what is the sanction against them?

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Did the ground have a safety certificate in May when the last games of last season were being played?  If so, what has changed?  Either games were held without the required certificates and insurance under the old regime, or the new regime should be given the same documentation.  If the old regime were operating without safety documentation then what is the sanction against them?

 

The ground must have been in possession of a certificate for the last home game played or it wouldn't have started. The spreadsheet of creditors shows that the Police are owed £8,645.58 for previous services. If I was them I would refuse to cover next Saturday's game unless that was paid. 

 

No Police cover outside the ground would probably cause a problem with a safety certificate.

 

Bulls Banter also reporting that no Safety Officer is in place ... 

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3173970.jpg?type=articleLandscape
 

 

Hereford United have still failed to be granted a safety certificate for their Edgar Street ground - four days before the start of the season.

Club bosses met with Herefordshire Council this afternoon in a bid to get clearance to allow spectators to watch United's home matches.

Yesterday, Hereford United's new chairman Andy Lonsdale told the Hereford Times the club had done 'all they could' to satisfy criteria for a new safety certificate for the stadium.

But the council was not satisfied that all the requirements have been met, and has adjourned the meeting until Thursday, just 48 hours before the club is due to entertain St Neots Town at Edgar Street.

Herefordshire Council's statement: "The council and emergency services, acting in a safety advisory group capacity, have today met with HUFC representatives to discuss the club’s general safety certificate, which is issued by the council to ensure spectator safety at the ground.

"Unfortunately, the council, police and fire service are not satisfied that all of the necessary statutory requirements have been met or that all of the relevant paperwork is in place.  Therefore at this stage, we are still unable to authorise the club’s safety certificate.

"However, we are working closely with the club’s newly appointed safety consultants as well as club representatives, in order to try and resolve the outstanding issues.

"A further special safety advisory group meeting has been provisionally set for the afternoon of Thursday, August 7 and a final resolution will follow this meeting."

 

 

 

Hereford Times

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post-109-0-36344800-1396033793.png

 

 
7 August

The council and emergency services, acting in a Safety Advisory Group capacity, have again met with HUFC representatives to discuss the club’s general safety certificate.

The council can confirm that whilst the club has met a number of statutory requirements surrounding spectator safety at Edgar Street, which will allow the first home game to go ahead on Saturday 9 August, there are certain stipulations attached to the certificate.

The club will only currently be allowed to play football matches in front of 1,000 spectators using both the Merton Terrace and Merton Stand at Edgar Street, as opposed to a full capacity crowd, until all of the partner agencies involved are satisfied that any outstanding safety issues have been properly addressed.

 

 

Herefordshire Council

 

Capacity won't be an issue ... I would be surprised at any more than 300 at the game on Saturday ... 

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On the back of this Council decision I've gone away and read the rules.

 

It looks like The Council has issued a conditional safety certificate that could never meet the minimum standard.

 

All Southern League grounds have to be at least a 'Grade C' ground. There is a document that outlines over 8 pages what you have to achieve to get a Grade C status (viewable on the web) but one is a minimum capacity of 1950 and a second is 'It must be possible for spectators to view the match, either standing or seated, for the full length of at least 3 sides of the playing area.'

 

Obviously with only 2 stands open and a capacity half of the minimum it could easily be argued that the Southern League should not permit HUFC to participate in that League as Edgar Street is unfit.

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post-109-0-36344800-1396033793.png

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014
CVA Proposal Rejected By Creditors
By Bobo
 
The CVA proposal by Hereford United has been rejected by creditors at today's meeting.
 
The meeting went for nearly two and a half hours as creditors quizzed the IP Marc Landsman and the trio of board members present. Debate centred around the budget projections, with a letter being produced and shown to one creditors of an offer of a six figure sponsorship. The letter was dismissed as not being credible by the shareholder due to the geographical location of the company.
 
The new owner of Tommy Agombar's debt and shares was named as Alpha Choice Finance Ltd of Essex. It's sole director is Alan Gerald McCarthy, listed on various searches as an Irish Accountant.
 
Creditors were told by Landsman that HMRC, whose debt was now up to £170,000, had already rejected the CVA proposal. He took only a few minutes to glance at the votes of those in the room before declaring the CVA to have been rejected as it was obvious it was not going to pass based on the votes he'd seen.
 
There is now an uncertain future for the club. Directors were discussing their next move as creditors left the room.
 
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I dip in and out of what's happening here so please educate me if I have this wrong.

 

Keyte tried his best but run out of money / ideas and got out.

Sold to tommy - I saw somewhere - perhaps the HT he put his hand in his pocket to the tune of £240,000

Tommy has now gone - and lost his money

 

The local group of businessmen who wanted to take it on have now walked away- again I think HT reported that.

 

So - what happens now? Or will it just become a derelict site?

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I dip in and out of what's happening here so please educate me if I have this wrong.

 

Keyte tried his best but run out of money / ideas and got out.

Sold to tommy - I saw somewhere - perhaps the HT he put his hand in his pocket to the tune of £240,000

Tommy has now gone - and lost his money

 

The local group of businessmen who wanted to take it on have now walked away- again I think HT reported that.

 

So - what happens now? Or will it just become a derelict site?

 

I really am massively into Football so have been following this closely. Although HUFC is not the team I support as everyone should know.

 

The story is a long one but recently Hereford hit the financial skids under the Keyte regime. He sold the Club to Tommy Agombar who could never pass the FA fitness test as he's got a lengthy prison sentence for lorry hi-jacking on his record from 1987 that is never spent. They all knew that. 

 

Agombar then says that the debt he thought he was taking on was much bigger than he thought ... Some suggestions he thought it was £250k that was in fact £1.4M

 

Some creditors get paid after a lengthy wait ...

 

The 'owner' cobbled some CVA agreement together which in someone's deluded mind was going to work out to pay outstanding creditors 100% of monies owed over 3 years ... Or was it part of a sinister scheme? 

 

Tommy gets banned by the FA so he sells his shares to Alpha Choice Finance (in existence 13 months) who appear to be run by Alan Gerald McCarthy who has been involved in 7 dissolved companies' (cash issues on that link). Various suggestions that they have had previous contact. Why buy the Club when the impending CVA decision was obvious? 

 

CVA proposal then gets thrown out at today's meeting so the Club is probably going to get wound up ... 

 

There must be a whole plan behind all this that has not yet emerged ... We all have ideas but it has not panned out yet ... 

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There must be a whole plan behind all this that has not yet emerged ... We all have ideas but it has not panned out yet ...

 

 

Oh I'm sure there's a plan alright a deep dark devious plan @ that?!

But whoever eventually gains control of Edgar street will have self interest @ heart not to mention the thought of cash filled riches to be made rather than those of a footballing interest I fear???!!!

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Oh I'm sure there's a plan alright a deep dark devious plan @ that?!

 

But whoever eventually gains control of Edgar street will have self interest @ heart not to mention the thought of cash filled riches to be made rather than those of a footballing interest I fear???!!!

 

The council gets the ground, the football is moved somewhere else. Who cares about the fans and history - it's all going to happen again with the Working Boys Home in Bath Street shortly? The development continues apace and all there will be seen in a few years time is another monument of corporate lust, probably a drive-in McDonalds at the end of the link road.

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