Legal action delays unfinished football stand work

The East Stand at Northampton Town's Sixfields stadium has remained unfinished since 2014

Work to complete a half-built stand at Northampton Town's Sixfields stadium will be delayed by legal action, the club has said.

Developer Cilldara has been given permission by the High Court to apply for a judicial review, after its bid for land next to the stadium was rejected by West Northamptonshire Council.

Spokesman for the company, James O'Brien, said it wanted to go to court "as soon as possible".

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said it was "not surprised" by the decision.

A judicial review would involve a judge reviewing the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.

It would look at whether any decision was made correctly, but not the decision itself.

Last year, WNC approved a deal for £2m from County Developments Northampton Ltd (CDNL), a company owned by the club's owners, to buy the land behind the stand.

It included an undertaking to complete the work on the ground's East Stand that has remained half-built for eight years.

Northampton Town said it needed direct control of the leases on the development land to complete the stand, which it would gain for the first time through the deal.

Officers recommended the CDNL bid to the Conservative-led authority, but that was despite Cilldara bidding £3m for the same land.

Mr O'Brien said Cilldara was "always confident" of being granted permission for the judicial review application, as it had "a cast-iron case".

The deal for the land would have allowed the completion of work on the East Stand, the club said

In a statement, Northampton Town said it would "continue to watch and respect the court process".

The club said it was "not directly involved", but added the review process "certainly delays progress" on the East Stand.

It said the club had "made significant progress relating to planning and remediation works required" on the stand, but the decision to allow an application for the review was "frustrating".

Malcolm Longley, Conservative cabinet member for finance at the council, said: "Given the complexity of this issue, we're not surprised by the judge's decision."

• Northampton Town and the missing money

The East Stand at the League Two club's stadium was supposed to be refurbished using money from a £10.25m loan, but work stalled in 2014 after contractors went unpaid.

The cash had originally been loaned to the club under its previous owners in 2013 by Northampton Borough Council, to rebuild the stand and develop land around the ground.

However, the money seemingly went missing and became the subject of an ongoing police inquiry.

The borough council has since been replaced by West Northamptonshire Council as part of a unitary realignment of local government in the county.