THE leader of the borough council has called on Basingstoke Town Football Club to "come clean with fans" over its plans to find a permanent home. 

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Cllr Simon Minas-Bound called on the club to be honest with fans, saying: "The club made it abundantly clear that, in their view, Winklebury could provide a long-term home for them."

However, the club's chairman has disputed the claim and says the club still wants a permanent home. 

Club chairman Jack Miller told the Gazette: "We have been abundantly clear that we would like home at the leisure park."

As previously reported, plans for improvements at the home of Hampshire FA have been revealed, which will see the stadium where BTFC currently plays upgraded, to allow the club to be promoted. 

The works, costing £800,000 are being funded by Basron, the company owned by former football club chairman Rafi Razzak, through a legally binding agreement following the loss of the Camrose as the club's former home ground. 

READ MORE: Major improvements set for Winklebury Football Complex

It comes after a planning inspector granted permission for the Camrose to be demolished and 85 dwellings and a 70-bedroom care home to be built on the land.

Mr Miller said: “The comments Cllr Simon Minas-Bound made at last week's cabinet meeting in relation to the football club were untrue and we as a club find them both surprising and disappointing.

"Our approach, both privately and publicly, always has been that we are seeking a new like-for-like replacement home of our own for the football club to mitigate the loss of the Camrose.

"Whilst it is true that we have held very primary and informal discussions with several parties around the borough regarding facilities, to explore every possibility - at no stage have I, publicly nor privately, pinpointed any individual site other than Basingstoke Leisure Park as our long term ambition for the football club."

He said in a meeting with the borough council, Hampshire FA and MP Maria Miller the club "discussed numerous venues for the football club" including North Manydown and Basingstoke Leisure Park.

He added: "It seemed Cllr Minas-Bound was the one steering us to stay put at Winklebury Football Complex.

"vice chair Liz Lockie and I have since met with council chief executive Russell O'Keeffe a month ago (in a meeting Cllr Minas-Bound was invited to) and re-iterated our plans for a replacement home for the football club and made it abundantly clear that we had identified Basingstoke Leisure Park as the single target of our Business Plan as a replacement home of our own."

Despite this during the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, March 2, Cllr Minas-Bound said the club has made "it very clear to me that the club’s ambition was to take over the Winklebury Football Complex" and that it was "going to work up a business case, with the assistance of Hants FA".

He added: "At that meeting, the club made it abundantly clear that, in their view, Winklebury could provide a long-term home for them and that they had no ability or desire to do anything other than become the main tenant of the Winklebury Football Complex. 

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"I asked them directly what their plan was to work with fans as they still hadn’t shared this long-term view with the fans.  This is not a new position for the football club, the club has had this view since Cllr Steve Williams was chair, and it is my view that it is about time the club came clean with fans. 

"At the very same meeting, they told me that they had informed opposition councillors that this was the club’s view and ambition."

The club’s first team currently sits four points clear at the top of the Isthmian League South Central Division and will need to improve its facilities should it be promoted at the end of the season.

Neil Cassar, the chief executive of Hants FA, said: "I confirm that we have had a preliminary open discussion with Basingstoke Town FC regarding what could be achieved at Winklebury Football Complex in the long term but the club have also made it clear that they are exploring like-for-like options at other locations for the replacement of the Camrose."

In response, Cllr Minas-Bound said: "Of course, the council cannot provide every sports club with their own facility using public money. But, where possible, the council helps clubs to access facilities, which we have done for the football club at Winklebury, enabling the club to return to playing in the town.

“Our role includes coordination of developers’ contributions, supporting the voluntary sports sector to develop strong and successful clubs and helping to attract external investment. As with any organisation that requests funding support from the council, it is vital that a comprehensive business plan demonstrates how public funding will be used and how the organisation can ensure it is financially sustainable.

“We have not seen any proposals for how a stadium could operate at the leisure park, in our meetings with the football club, let alone any costed business case for a new facility there. As we have said, the flexible development plots on the leisure park would allow space for a multi-use arena but this would be dependent on operators with a viable plan to build and run such a facility without public subsidies.

“All conversations have been led by the club and they have focused on the possibility of the club taking over Winklebury Stadium as the main tenant to give the club its own home.”