Row erupts over Hull KR’s North Stand
ANGRY officials at Hull KR have labelled the development of their new £8m North Stand at Craven Park “shambolic” and told the city council they will play no further part in its completion.
It comes as a major fall-out between the club and council officers has led to the Robins quitting a joint steering group overseeing the project.
Rovers have been left furious by continued delays, with the latest problems now ruling out any chance of the stand being used this season. As a result, KR have claimed they could lose between £750k and £1m in income and told the authority they want no further part in the project, and will not be attending future meetings on its progress.
Read more from Neil Hudgell here: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Hull-KR-furious-shambolic-8m-North-Stand-project/story-18265350-detail/story.html#axzz2M7aRlgk2
Meanwhile, Hull City Council have hit back at Hull KR‘s claims, saying they ‘won’t be blamed for the clubs financial difficulties’.
An official statement said: “The council has a long history of support for the club, which is demonstrated by our commitment to the North Stand development for the people of East Hull, without which the project would not be financially viable.
“We chose to locate our training and regeneration facility there to help the club secure the North stand and also to provide a facility for the people of East Hull. We helped the scheme access EDRF funding to help them gain a £8m new facility, for which they will not start paying their contribution until it is completed.
“We are disappointed at our North Stand project team colleagues from Hull KR for not flagging up problems they had with the North Stand project earlier, on designs that they have signed off with us at every stage of the development.
“We are also disappointed that they have used this to blame us for their financial difficulties. We have no responsibility for the running of the finances of the club.
“Changes requested to the design, have led to the 4-5 weeks slippage, which is not uncommon for a project of this size and we believe that the stand will be better than the original design. The club has been part of this process.
“Also we have already committed to addressing issues of concern to us and the wider project board, such as the colour of the stand as part of the project board meetings.
“We have asked Hull KR to reconsider their position but they have refused.”