Millwall shock as inquiry clears Lewisham council of wrongdoing over plans to seize Den land

Concern: Millwall chief Steve Kavanagh
Rex Features
Giuseppe Muro28 November 2017

Millwall's fight to stop land around The Den being sold to property developers has suffered a major blow after an independent inquiry cleared Lewisham council of any wrongdoing surrounding its plans for a proposed compulsory purchase order.

The inquiry, which was led by Lord Dyson, has rejected all the criticisms of the council’s plans to seize the land and sell it to offshore developer Renewal.

Millwall said those plans threatened to evict them from The Den and the club accused the council of trying to force them out of their historic home. They want to develop the land themselves to secure their future.

An independent inquiry was called after questions emerged over the process, including a series of revelations about the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, a sports complex set up by Renewal and at the heart of the bitter dispute.

But Lord Dyson has rejected all criticisms of Lewisham and said the council “behaved with propriety, due diligence and in accordance with the applicable codes of practice”.

Millwall were on Monday digesting the report, which cost around £250,000 of public money. The council is likely to discuss the findings by Lord Dyson at a council meeting in January.

Lewisham today said it wants “all parties involved... to work together to agree a way forward” and said it wants to “ensure Millwall FC is based in Lewisham for generations to come”.

But Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh has previously claimed the club may be forced to relocate to Kent if the land is sold to developers.

Lewisham in January scrapped its plans to seize land from Millwall but the Championship club fear the CPO could be revisited after council elections next year. The uncertainty hanging over Millwall remains.

Lord Dyson said in his report, which was made public today, that he has “rejected all of the criticisms that have been made of the conduct of officers and members”.

He added: “I have reached the conclusion that they behaved with propriety, due diligence and in accordance with the applicable codes of practice in relation to: the decision to grant outline planning permission; the decision to enter into a conditional agreement to sell the Millwall Land to Renewal; the decisions to use CPO powers in relation to the Millwall Land; the decision to pledge £500,000 to SCSF; the council’s support for Renewal’s bid for a grant from GLA; the investigation into the LSH brochure; and the appraisal of the financial viability of Renewal’s scheme and Renewal’s ability to deliver it.”

A Millwall statement said: “Although Millwall Football Club provided a written submission to Lord Dyson, as he requested, and attended an oral hearing in July, we have heard nothing since then and have had no advance warning of any of the content or conclusions of the report. Therefore, we have only just seen the report for the first time and must now read it carefully and give it due consideration before we make any comment.”

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