Club avoids ground repossession

A non-league football club has avoided having its home ground being repossessed by the local council.

Dorking FC will be able to negotiate a new lease for the Meadowbank ground following a county court judgement.

Mole Valley District Council and the current owners of Dorking FC, in Surrey, had disagreed over the up-keep of the facilities at Meadowbank.

But the judge decided that the club should be granted a new lease at Staines County Court.

The council, which is the landlord of Meadowbank, in Mill Lane, Dorking, and the club have three months to agree terms.

'State of disrepair'

Mole Valley District Council chief executive, Darren Mepham, said: "This case has brought the poor state of repair of Dorking Football club's ground and clubhouse to the attention of the general public.

"We hope that we can now work with the tenant to reverse the current state of disrepair.

"If this court case has ensured the tenant will now focus its attention on this then our actions will have had a positive result."

Dorking FC, who are in the Combined Counties League Premier Division, have played at Meadowbank since the 1950s.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version