Northampton Town stadium land deal questioned by rival bidder

The owners of Northampton Town will now buy the undeveloped land next to the club's Sixfields stadium

The unsuccessful bidder for land next to Northampton Town's stadium said the "fundamental question" of why it was turned down remained unanswered.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has accepted an offer from the club's owners instead of a higher bid from development company Cilldara.

In response to concerns raised by the supporters' trust the council said the deal was best for taxpayers.

But Cilldara said this did not explain why its higher bid was rejected.

The agreed deal will see two portions of the land being sold for £2.05m to County Developments (Northampton) Ltd (CDNL) - a separate company run by the owners of the League Two football club.

According to the agreement, work on the East Stand must be finished within five years or the council would be entitled to buy back part of the site for £1.

Cilldara had bid £3m for the land.

The completion of the East Stand at Northampton Town's Sixfields stadium is part of the land deal agreed by councillors

In a letter sent to the council last week, Northampton Town's Supporters' Trust said it had "grave concerns" over the deal,

It said there should have been a "stand first" provision in the deal to guarantee the unfinished stand was completed before the land was developed.

The East Stand at Sixfields stadium was supposed to be refurbished using money from a £10.25m loan made by the now-defunct Northampton Borough Council, but work stalled in 2014 after contractors went unpaid, prompting a police inquiry into the club's former owners.

In a response to the letter, first published in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, the council said "the completion of the stand is part of the offer forwarded by CDNL".

But the authority it "could not take the stand into account when making the decision" over the sale of the land.

"[The council] must achieve best consideration for the taxpayer and cannot consider wider benefits," it said.

• BBC Sport: Northampton Town

Cilldara said in a statement "this raises the fundamental question" of how its higher offer was rejected.

The company also disputed the council's claim that Cilldara commissioned an expert report which found it would cost at least £10m to decontaminate the land, which was a former waste site.

Cilldara said it was considering legal action to challenge the decision.

Northampton Town Football Club previously said it was "just getting on with things", including meetings with a contractor about the East Stand and any delays would be "detrimental to the football club".