West Northamptonshire Council wins land sale legal case - so what happens next?

Will this be the end of the long running saga?

By Sarah Ward

Yesterday, three months after hearing the details at a judicial review, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in favour of West Northamptonshire Council finding it had made its decision to sell land to the town’s football club lawfully.

The high court judge dismissed all parts of developer Cilldara Ltd’s claims that the authority had not acted according to law when it decided in March last year to take the football club’s lower offer of £2m for the land over Cilldara’s own £3m bid.

She found the authority had acted fairly in its dealings with Cilldara, had not predetermined its decision to sell to the football club and the council was entitled to take the view that Cilldara’s offer was not ‘reasonably obtainable’.

All six claims brought by Cilldara were dismissed.

Justice Steyn’s ruling brings to a close a 12-month saga, which had prevented the deal between the club and the football club owners CDNL from going ahead.

After the judgement the council’s leader Jonathan Nunn put out a statemen…