The Council... they say 'YES'!
The Town Planning Committee has voted 7 to 4 in favour of joint planning application between the Wolves and Super Market Giants Tescos. The proviso is that the decision will be referred to the Secretary of State, and he has 21 days in which to call a public meeting to discuss he proposal or accept the application. Letters of support and petitions signed by the clubs fans helped sway the decision of the Planning Committee, as did the passioned plea of Wolves fan Mark Fearnley. Also speaking at the meeting were Tescos John Christie, Retail Marketing Manager. Mr Christie put across the points that Tesco see Warrington as a flagship with the Tesco Extra store which would create 800 jobs and also help finance the much needed ú12 million to develop the stadium. Speakig against were local residents in the area of the proposed stadium and large retailers like Asda and W M Morrisons. Town centre trading was also much talked about and any impact that a new stadium and retail facility may have on that. Also much talked about was traffic congestion on the A49 Winwick Road. In the end the members voted in favour of the application being referred to the Secretary of State and it is now down to him to make the final decisions. Speaking immediately after the decision Wolves coach Darryl van de Velde said, "It's excellent news. Obviously the process that we've got to got through and wait the 21 days, but it's an excellent opportunity and we need the stadium to go ahead. It's great news for the fans and the town itself. For us to go forward in Super League it had to be a 'Yes' vote tonight." 
Wolves Chief Exectutive Peter Deakin addressed the massed fans of the club and was treated like a hero, "That was the first major hurdle and I'd just to thank the councillors that voted for us, it wasn't as tight as I thought it would be with a 7-4 vote. It's a great vote for us and there is a resolution there that it will got through to the Secretary of State for him to review. He has 21 days to make a decision whether it goes to a public enquiry or not. We hope he sees that this has value added community that will support the development of this new stadium."
23, Aug, 2000
