SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Ball moving forward towards Ilminster Town FC's ultimate goal

COUNCILLORS have agreed to accept a draft 25-year lease agreement with Ilminster Town FC in a bid to avoid scoring an own goal over the club’s new pavilion project.

Members of Ilminster Town Council last night (Tuesday, July 14, 2014) voted in favour of accepting the draft lease agreement with the club to use land at Britten’s Field off of Canal Way to build a new pavilion and community facilities.

Some councillors were keen to discuss the finer details of the lease, but it was stressed that the important thing – at this stage – was to get the ball rolling rather than dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s of a 55-page document.

Town clerk Joy Norris told councillors: “There are obviously going to be some things we can’t agree on until the building has been built.”

Cllr Stuart Shepherd said: “The devil is in the detail, but what we are doing now is approving a draft lease.

“It is a 55-page document that is heavy reading, but I don’t see any problems and we should approve what we have here.”

The draft lease agreement will enable grant funding from various agencies and bodies to come forward to help finance the £600,000 project.

PHOTOS: Artist's impressions of how the new facilities on Britten's Field might look. Photos courtesy of Ilminster Town FC.

Cllr Roger Swann said: “We have deferred this already and if we do so again it could put a spanner in the works and the wheels could come off.

“We need to approve and move on. We need to approve the agreement of the lease in principle.”

Cllr Sophie Storey added: “Let’s get his project going so it doesn’t stop. This is a draft lease – not set in stone.”

A decision on the draft lease agreement was put on hold at last month’s council meeting to allow councillors time to read the document.

The club’s vice-chairman Daniel Haines appealed to councillors at the start of last night’s meeting that he hoped they would not defer a decision any longer.

“Let’s not defer this any further and let’s move the project forward,” he said.

Councillors voted in favour of approving an agreement for a draft lease, but also that they look into the costs of inviting a solicitor to come and meet them to discuss and explain the lease in more detail.

A number of representatives from Ilminster Town FC were at the meeting to listen to the debate and left happy that a positive outcome had been reached.

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