The leader of Somerset Council Bill Revans has said the authority will “seek to protect” the future of land at Huish Park which is in its ownership.
The authority which took over from South Somerset District Council following a local government reorganisation in April 2023 is the landlord of land Yeovil Town’s stadium sits after the club’s former owner <NAME REDACTED> sold it for £2.8m in May 2022.
The club’s current chairman Martin Hellier has an exclusive buy-back clause on the land which expires in May 2026 and recently told a fans’ forum that its long-term ownership was “on the radar” and that any development of the land would benefit the club.
When Mr Revans appeared on BBC Radio Somerset this afternoon to answer questions on a range of topics, the Gloverscast posed one about the future of the land, namely: “As its owner, how does Somerset Council view the future of the land at Huish Park? Is the council committed to the long-term future of the land being used for sports beyond the 2026 exclusivity period that the football club’s owner has on the buy-back of the land?”
In reply, Mr Revans said: “I understand the new owner of the club says he wants to buy the land and he has an exclusive option on that buy-back until May 2026. I would hope that comes forward and after that we would have to have negotiations about what was possible to bring that forward, but we want to see Yeovil Town continue to thrive and prosper and one day they may reach their former heights.”
Following this initial response, BBC Somerset presenter Charlie Taylor posed a follow-up question about what would happen if an offer came in for the land from a group not interested in the site continuing as a football club. He asked: “If someone wanted that land to do something else with it, would the council be in a difficult position given the financial state of affairs? Could you say ‘no’ to such an offer to protect Yeovil Town FC, or would the money take precedence to protect things like social care?”
In response, Mr Evans said: “We are getting in to multiple levels of hypothetical situations now, but if anyone came forward with an offer we would have to have a conversation. But, I do not foresee that happening. Yeovil Town in absolute integral to the community of Yeovil, we own a number of sports grounds across the county and fully recognise the importance of our sports clubs to local communities and we would seek to protect them if we at all could. One reason we do everything we can to keep control of local finances is so we can recognise local priorities. If we had commissioners (people sent in to sort out failing councils) appointed by the government, they would not be able to respond to local needs as your caller suggests.”
You can listen to Mr Revans in full on the BBC iPlayer – HERE – the question and answer about the land ownership starts at 02:49:00 in to the broadcast.