Local MP Steve Brine has worked with city council colleagues in Winchester to rescue the city's football club.
The keys of Winchester City Football Club's ground were handed back to the City Council on Monday (9th April) in a move that will give the club breathing space to plan its future and crucially, finish the current season.
As landlord of the site at the North Walls Recreation Ground in Winchester, the City Council will now see that power is restored to the site, enabling the team to complete its fixtures for the season and also allowing the nursery that uses the buildings to return, much to the relief of local families which depend upon the service it provides.
The immediate cause of these problems was that the club has not been able to pay an electricity bill which led to power being shut down.
Keith Wood, the Leader of Winchester City Council, said: "We have been monitoring the situation at Winchester Football Club closely and in view of the problems they have had I am pleased to say that the leaseholders have decided to hand back possession of the ground to the City Council.
"This enables us to take swift action to restore power to the site, allowing the club to finish the season and the nursery to use the premises again. We are particularly concerned to ensure the nursery, on which many local parents depend, can reopen for the new term and this should now be possible.
"We have been working closely with local MP Steve Brine and everyone has had to move quickly to resolve a difficult situation. Looking forward, we want to see a new community-based football club emerge which has its roots firmly in Winchester and which lives within its means."
Steve Brine added; "A successful football club is very much in Winchester's interests, socially and economically. This deal was only possible because the city council stepped up to the spot when we knocked on their door last week and they deserve huge credit for that.
"There is a long way to go but the ambition here is clear, to create a genuine community football club that gives all ages - boys and girls - the chance to play the beautiful game. This new start for Winchester City could just be the start of something very exciting indeed."
Winchester City Council will now be talking to interested parties about the future of the football club for next season and beyond.
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