Sale of Peterborough United stadium to be completed ‘in next six weeks’

The two parties shook hands on a deal last August in front of supporters at the ground in London Road, but the final paperwork has yet to be signed.

However, speaking on Friday, council acting director of corporate resources Peter Carpenter revealed that everything should be completed by March 31.

He said: “We’re still on track for it to happen before the end of the financial year. We’re at the contract stage and it is quite a complex deal.”

Under the agreed terms Posh will pay £5.265 million for the Weston Homes Stadium, Allia Future Business Centre and 12 car parking spaces while the council will hold onto much of the surrounding land it bought as part of the original deal, including the London Road car park.

The Vista development land on which 295 carbon neutral homes were built is also excluded from the sale.

The council bought the stadium and surrounding land for £8.4 million from a property developer back in 2010.

It said back in August that it had received £3.9 million over the years from its investment, while the car park is planned to be converted into 82 affordable apartments through the authority’s Medesham Homes partnership.

Posh are currently considering whether to build a new stadium which it is expected would be at the Embankment.

Mr Carpenter was speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph after unveiling the council’s latest budget proposals.

The proposals reveal that £4.15 million is being paid by Posh in the current financial year, with the remaining £1.115 million paid over the next three years.

However, the loss of the future business centre will cost the council £41,000 a year in annual income.

The club and council have already pledged to continue to collaborate in future years with the planned creation of a Peterborough-based learning accelerator focusing on sports science, digital arts, software and other technologies traditionally not found in the eastern region.

An accelerator implementation plan is expected to be presented to the community for input by autumn 2020.

Also planned is an angel investment network to help business entrepreneurs associated with the learning accelerator get matched with investors to help them realise their ambitions.

Articles relating to the budget will continue to go on the Peterborough Telegraph’s website until Monday morning.

Visit: https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics.

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