ARCHWAY STATEMENT ABOUT THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE HIGH COURT HEARING ON 15th JANUARY 2015.
Spurs posted an announcement on their website at 11:40 on 14th January 2015 recording the adjournment of the hearing which was due to commence yesterday.
Their statement is incomplete and fails to make clear that they were in reality responsible for the adjournment yesterday.
This is because it was their delay in providing information that they were ordered by the High Court to provide on 5th January 2015. The deadline under that order was Wednesday 7th January 2015 at 4pm. This information relates to secret discussions between the Club and various public bodies concerning major changes to the Club’s scheme on which the case for Compulsory Purchase of our land was based.
We are advised that this information should have been made public before the decision to confirm the CPO was taken by the Secretary of State and the failure of Haringey and Spurs to provide that information made the decision to confirm the order unlawful and unfair.
Our formal application for a disclosure order was made on 24th November 2014. It followed earlier unsuccessful requests we made in correspondence going back to October 2013 and in requests under the Freedom of Information legislation starting in August 2014.
The required information was finally provided on Monday afternoon (12th January 2015) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, as the First Defendant, understandably decided that the information had been disclosed too late for him to prepare fully for the hearing starting yesterday.
We respect that decision in the circumstances, although Archway were themselves perfectly ready and willing for the hearing to go ahead as planned, because the disclosed information vindicated our genuine concerns in this case.
In view of the Club’s incomplete and misleading account of the true reasons for the adjournment, we made a friendly request for a slight amendment to the news item on the their website. This was to ensure that the fans were not misled into believing that we were responsible for the delay, but Spurs refused to make that amendment.
Archway’s makes this clear statement so that Spurs fans, the news media and other interested parties are not misled as to who is responsible for this ongoing delay: clearly, Haringey Council and the secretive directors of Spurs.
The matter has now been adjourned to 17th & 18th February 2015 and we very much look forward to presenting our case then to Mr Justice Dove for a fair hearing.
Posted by: The Directors of Archway Sheet Metal Works Limited and the Josif Family Trustees. 16th January 2015.
