HEARTS chairman Wallace Mercer last night said he still hoped his club
would get a new stadium at Millerhill, even if it took an appeal to the
Scottish Secretary to get permission.
He was speaking after it became clear that Lothian Regional Council
now seems set to vote down the scheme, with the ruling Labour group
coming out against it, and the council's transportation committee
rejecting the scheme yesterday.
However, he did not blame the councillors, claiming they had been
virtually ordered to turn down the scheme by planning officials
frightened of setting a precedent for encroachment of the city's green
belt.
Both sides were quick to use the Trojan horse metaphor to criticise
the other. Councillors felt the developers were using the new stadium to
push through commercial development, while Mr Mercer believed the
council was using the stadium issue to force the Scottish Office to
increase road funding allocation.
''The site creates serious difficulties and would do so even if the
development was scaled down,'' said planning convener Councillor David
Costello. ''It would involve a commitment to extra cash for road
improvements from the Scottish Office and they have never reacted that
way in the past.''
However, the councillors' support for the idea of a new stadium was
welcomed by Mr Mercer, who said the bulk of the #100m Millerhill plan
had been non-contentious.
He hoped a way could still be found to meet the varying aspirations of
different local authorities, the Government, and the need, recognised on
all sides, for a new football stadium with a capacity of up to 30,000 in
the city. This would become all the more obvious, he said, if Glasgow
ended up in a few years time with Ibrox plus a redeveloped Hampden, and
Celtic Park.
Mr Mercer added: ''We looked at all aspects of land use and employment
and came up with a balanced use. That's why we put in some commercial
development -- we don't see that as a dirty word or anything morally
wrong.''
He confirmed that there would be a board meeting at Tynecastle on
Saturday, but said there would be no decision about an appeal to the
Secretary of State until after next week's full council decisions and
discussions with co-developer Jim Glass.
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