Hibs pull out of Vogrie
at planning stage
...but club has not abandoned
Academy plans - STUART CROWTHER
HIBERNIAN
HAVE WITHDRAWN THEIR PLANNING APPLICATION to
build a new Youth Academy on the earmarked site at Vogrie Park in
Midlothian - but sources at the club today insist that this is not the end
of the process.
Vogrie
was identified as an ideal site for a joint project between Hibernian and
Midlothian Council that would provide both a youth academy for the
football club and first-class sports facilities for use by the Midlothian
community. However there were understood to be a number of
objections to the plans from local residents, and progress has been
slow. Hibs.net
has learned today that the club employed two sets of consultants to take
forward their application for outline planning permission at the site, but
neither was successful in achieving that aim. While the council
remained firmly committed to the plans it is the club who are responsible
for taking forward the proposals and this, according to a club spokesman
today, has proven to be a 'time-consuming
and very difficult exercise'.
The
objections from local residents are not believed to be the main stumbling
block, and indeed the club held a public meeting in a local community hall
to explain their plans to residents in the area of the Vogrie parkland and
that is believed to have dealt with many of the concerns felt by the
residents themselves. However earlier this month Hibernian had to
admit defeat, at least in the first round, to its Midlothian Council
partners and that they had subsequently withdrawn the existing planning
application. Hibs were at pains today to reassure that this did not
mean the end of their plans to build an Academy, be it at Vogrie or
another site, with a spokesman telling Hibs.net:
"The club have recognised the
enormous work that is required in taking a project of this size forward,
and have for some time been in discussions with various developers who
specialise in projects such as this. A decision will be taken by the
middle of January and one of these development partners will then take the
project forward."
The kids still have Vogrie to themselves....
There
remains some doubt however on the future of the Vogrie site as the home of
Hibs new Academy. While making it clear that the Midlothian site
remains the preferred option, Hibernian will not close their minds to
another site in Midlothian that may prove more acceptable, or indeed any
site outside Midlothian could yet be considered. Seeking a path
through the difficulties in planning the project and obtaining the correct
permissions is only part of the problem, as the club who recently reported
a loss in excess of £1.5m for the last financial year must also seek a
means of finding funding believed to be over £5m before land costs are
taken into account. Part of that funding could come from the
Scottish Football Partnership, who have increased funding available for
football Academies in Scotland with a potential of up to £1.2m being
available to Hibernian.
A
major problem for Hibs will be the fact that to receive funding from the
Scottish Football Partnership, the club must first submit to them duly
approved outline planning permission, and that has so far proven to be
more than a little elusive! However Hibernian are understood to
remain firmly behind the idea of creating their own Youth Academy, using
the same determination and experience that saw the new West Stand come to
fruition this year. It will however take a great deal of creative
funding to fill the cash shortfall in excess of £4m if the project is to
succeed, and it remains to be seen if this will be possible in the near
future.
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