10 September 2014 14:02
Tottenham are set to play 2017-18 home games away from White Hart Lane as plans for a new stadium on the site are to go to the High Court.
A compulsory purchase order (CPO) was pushed through by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles in July to allow Tottenham to press ahead with construction work that was hoped to be completed by 2017.
However, landowners Archway Sheet Metal Works Ltd and the Josif family have exercised their right to challenge the CPO in the High Court, meaning that the project will now be subject to further delays.
As a result, Tottenham’s hopes of continuing playing at White Hart Lane while work is carried out have now been shelved in order to speed up the construction time, leaving the Premier League club with no choice but to find a new home for the 2017-18 campaign.
A statement on the Tottenham website read: “The challenge proceedings will now commence and we await notification of the earliest possible date for the High Court hearing.
“We have already successfully and amicably relocated more than 70 businesses in the area to the satisfaction of all parties concerned and a number of these organisations continue to reside in the borough.
“Whilst we were able to accommodate all these other businesses’ requests, in the instance of Archway, we have been unable to reach agreement over the period of the last seven years.
“That said, we remain committed to finding the earliest possible resolution and shall continue to engage with Archway regarding a possible agreement reached by private treaty.
“Given the lengthy period of time taken to reach the CPO decision in the first place, we should like to advise supporters that it is highly unlikely we shall be able to open the new stadium at the start of the 2017/2018 season.
“The club has revised its construction programme in order to take the shortest possible time to construct. This now therefore involves the club moving away from the Lane during construction for a period of one season, to start at the beginning of a season in order to comply with Premier League rules.
“We are currently undertaking due diligence on alternative stadium options. Consideration needs to be given to several factors, including planning and policing and, importantly, our fans and the impact it may have on the team itself.
“Clearly all possible options have pros and cons and we are aware that we shall not be able to find one which will please all parties.
“We shall however seek to find the optimum solution for the club and our supporters and we shall be sharing our deliberations with our supporters at an appropriate time.”