On Wednesday 11th June, we presented our petition to Newcastle City Council. 

The Council's Cabinet Member for Economy, Jobs and Skills responded and said the Council could not comment on the plans, as no planning application had been submitted.

The Council's standing orders stipulate that public questions and petitions relating to  planning matters will not usually be considered at council meetings, to avoid prejudicing future decision making, so this was an odd response. 

We were told the Council could not comment on plans that "did not exist", despite the fact that plans for a new stadium on Newcastle City Council land have been circulating widely for some time. 

An independent councillor challenged the Cabinet member's response, expressing concern that the issues raised in the petition were not addressed. The same councillor has been trying to get a response from the Council on the legal status of land at Leazes Park since March. The leader of the opposition also called for clarity on the matter. 

We are pleased that this important issue has been brought to the attention of the full City Council and that important questions are now being asked. 

You can listen to the presentation of the petition and the Council's cloak and dagger response here (approx 17 minutes in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjfyw0P5J9Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjfyw0P5J9A

A BBC news article on the matter can be accessed here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gr17v14rdo