Eastleigh - The Road to Ruin

Eastleigh Borough Council voted in favour of bailing out the Rose Bowl, last Thursday. They are paying £6.5M for the land, which they will be renting back to Rose Bowl plc for £450K a year. The company is effectively bankrupt, without shareholders funds and lost £900K during the last financial year, so not the ideal tenant. Compounding this, the fearless council are borrowing an additional £32M to build a 4 star Hilton on the site, on the pretext of "protecting jobs".

 

All this money is being borrowed at apparently favourable rates (I reckon about 3.5-4%) from the treasury via the UK Debt Management Office. So, the voters of Eastleigh are to be saddled with a £40M debt, covered by rent from businesses, that couldn't borrow the money from the bank due to the viability or lack of, of their business plan and interest payments of £1.5-£2M a year from council tax. That is a interest burden of about 25% of the total tax collected from Eastleigh tax payers.

 

Saints fans will remember the approach this council took towards a new football stadium at Stoneham. They will also be able to compare the business model of Saints vs the Rose Bowl.

 

In summary, I think Keith House and his Lib Dem chums are totally mental....

John, in total agreement with you on this one!!!! What they think they are doing is anyone's guess. It doesnt make any commercial sense whatsoever and seems to me to be way beyond what a local council should be doing!!!!!! The creating or saving jobs line just doesn't wash for me.

 

I have no problem with councils supporting the Arts, sport or other "worthy" or "community" events and providing facilities, but this is way beyond that.

 

As for Mr House, well I remember talking to him a few times around the time of Stoneham and couldn't believe someone as ignorant, ill informed and generally stupid was in such a position of power. I rememeber one good debate when he was arguing about how Southampton shouldn't extend past the M27 and I pointed out that a) Stoneham would be south of it and b) he lived on an estate that was north of the M27 and a few years earlier was farmers fields.

 

Even back then he had a thing for the Rose Bowl and was saying it was a different proposition to the hooligans that Stoneham would attract and that was why he had no problem with a cricket ground!!!!! It's now a tens of millions problem for him.

Totally agree with you both. Lib Dems have all the say in the running of EBC and they are going to run it into the ground. Barsteds.

There's not enough Cricket to go round. The 6 main test grounds have all been upgraded, as well as Cardiff. The Rosebowl will never make money. Who wants a hotel in the middle of west end? There's already one on the main road near the tennis place. They are insane

Totally agree with you both. Lib Dems have all the say in the running of EBC and they are going to run it into the ground. Barsteds.

 

Oh for a Conservative run council...

Oh for a Conservative run council...

Eastleigh woud probably still have one, if it wasn't for a noose and a tangerine...

Eastleigh woud probably still have one, if it wasn't for a noose and a tangerine...

He was a nice chap, a great loss, and I doubt we shall ever get the true story, but he was in a different assembly. Weren't we already dribbly dems by then?

He was a nice chap, a great loss, and I doubt we shall ever get the true story, but he was in a different assembly. Weren't we already dribbly dems by then?

Milligan's death significantly contributed to ending John Major's "Back to Basics" policy initiative. Commentators reflected that the circumstances of the MP's demise were a personal tragedy that unjustly overshadowed his achievements in life and his promising political career. John Major branded the events and circumstances leading to Milligan's death as being "rather sad". His death was one of a number of cases of political "sleaze" which were satirised on television programs such as Have I Got News For You, whose producers sent black bin bags, oranges and black stockings to TV journalists.^[6] His death and its reporting has also been a subject of studies of media ethics.His death triggered a by-election at a time which was highly volatile for the Conservative Party and saw the election of Liberal Democrat David Chidgey.

I can't see Huhne getting back in after the speeding offence dodging (alleged). Whether he gets away with it or not people will makes their own minds up at the ballot box and boot him out.

its well worth looking into the circumstances surrounding Milligan's death.it has a particular relevance here, as there are suggested connections to a very well known footballer.

 

(not that the utter idiots who have run Eastleigh for years had anything to do with it, obviously!!)

Thing I cant quite make out is that the loan is predicated on another Hotel build when there is already one on site and an upmarket one planned for Ocean Village

Local politicians make crap decision shock!

I understand the Rose Bowl funding but the hotel seems very odd. Is it normal for local councils to be building hotels ouside of a town?

The hotel is sheer lunacy. There is already the Botleigh Grange Hotel and the Botley Park hotel within striking distance and they are both 4 star. If anybody had a particular preference for a Hilton, then they only have to go to Chilworth. And in any event, as mentioned, there is already a hotel on site. When the cricket isn't on, who exactly would be the clientele?

As a local Council tax payer, I do not recall the EBC asking the local residents whether they supported this dreadful waste of our taxes, but then again, the Rose Bowl suddenly appeared as a fait accomplis in the first place when there was the massive furore from the local area when Stoneham was proposed. Bloody hypocrites and I hope that this, on top of the scandal attaching to Huhne's activities, puts paid to their majority on the EBC and that they lose the Parliamentary seat too.

I hadnt realised this idiot Councillor Glynn Davies-Dear had jumped the liberal democratic ship?

 

i had a couple of set toos with him over stoneham. He didnt want the stadium , the cinema complex or a hotel being built there. He told me he wanted to create a world class cross country track at stoneham as that was his favourite sport and he looked forward to making stoneham a world class cross country venue>

 

It wasnt long after tjhat eastliegh got a new cinema if I recollect correctly. he might be leader of the independants there but once a liberal always a liberal.

 

To me he is a total tosser and had no time for Southampton FC even taking away the lowe factor from the equation

Anyone who votes Lib Dem deserves all they get.

I think I'm right - the opposition members of the committee responsible for this decision can call the decision in. It would have to be re-examined and the business case justified (or not).

I think I'm right - the opposition members of the committee responsible for this decision can call the decision in. It would have to be re-examined and the business case justified (or not).

The decision was made in a full council meeting. It is subject to, among other things, that Rosebowl plc can show they will be able to afford the rents and that they will have a long term viable business model.

Looks like those tossers at EBC have been to the Portsmouth FC school of finance!

What about if the deal was only for the Council to buy and own the ground??

 

Could it be justified in the context of owning a community asset for the benefit of all?

 

Or would this be still too much for them to take on?

 

What about when people were asking Southampton City Council to help us out and buy our ground?

The decision was made in a full council meeting. It is subject to, among other things, that Rosebowl plc can show they will be able to afford the rents and that they will have a long term viable business model.

If they can do that, they should be able to go to a bank. The reason they are going to Eastleigh is because Bransgrove can't get any financial institutions interested and that is not just because of the current economic climate.

 

IT'S A BAD BUSINESS PLAN WITH NO PROSPECT OF FINANCIAL RETURN.

If they can do that, they should be able to go to a bank. The reason they are going to Eastleigh is because Bransgrove can't get any financial institutions interested and that is not just because of the current economic climate.

 

IT'S A BAD BUSINESS PLAN WITH NO PROSPECT OF FINANCIAL RETURN.

 

Can't someone ask the District Auditor to investigate? If it's treasury funded, the council should have to demonstrate value for money to the Treasury to gain access to funds.

What about when people were asking Southampton City Council to help us out and buy our ground?

 

I did post at the time, but there was apparently a plan "D" where the council were prepared to buy the ground, but not the club (Obviously). It was very much down to worst case scenario and no real appetite from the council to actually do it, but a fall back position if the worst came to the worst.

 

Certainly not in the know, but it was from as credbile source as I was ever likely to bump into and actually had something to do with your school swimming pool!

I remember about 10 years ago the Lib Dems wanted to build a private health/fitness club on a local nature reserve round my way, the irony being it was an area very opular with joggers.

 

Luckily it got thrown out.