Town chief executive Simon Clegg says he is due to meet his Ipswich Borough Council counterpart Russell Williams in the next few weeks with the dispute regarding the back rent owed on the land on which the Portman Road stadium stands still not resolved. At a meeting of IBC’s executive committee last month the club were given until December 31st to agree to new payment proposals.
Clegg says that there have been no developments since then, but that further talks are planned: "There’s been no further progress. To be fair, their chief executive Russell Williams has been on annual leave, and he and I are due to be meeting over the next couple of weeks.”
In March, it was revealed that the annual rent on the land had jumped by 643% from £15,000 to £111,500 backdated to 2004, the council having initially targeted a rise to £250,000.
While Town have paid the new sum since the rent review was carried out last year, the club has dug its heels in regarding the additional £654,702 owed from the period back to 2004 when the rent review was initially due, an independent arbitrator having set the new figure.
Town argue that IBC’s former chief executive James Hehir, who died in November 2009, made a verbal agreement that the council would not seek back rent once the review was completed.
Clegg has said that the club would ultimately like to own the freehold, having had previous offers rejected by IBC, with the Ipswich Independent Supporters Trust speaking out against the proposed purchase.
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