Hereford United chairman Graham Turner has claimed that the proposed development of the club’s Edgar Street home could be at the planning stage within weeks.
Speaking last week Turner said he hoped the development of the Blackfriars end of the stadium would be completed in time for next season’s campaign.
“It continues to be positive,” he told the club website. “I’m still optimistic that we’ll have it up and running before the end of next season. There are certain things that need to be put into place.
“The application has gone in for grants and I would be disappointed if we are not looking at applying for detailed planning consent within the next two weeks.
“It has dragged on but the prospects of it going ahead fairly quickly now is, I think, looking good.
“We had a very constructive meeting with the Richardsons and the council last Thursday.”
The ground is owned by Herefordshire Council and leased to property developers Richardson Capital, the company behind some of theWest Midlands’ biggest projects. They in turn sub-let the ground to the football club.
Turner also revealed that an early postponement of their League Two match against Morecambe last Friday saved the club in the region of £4,000, as they would have been responsible for Morecambe’s travelling expenses if it had been called off too late. The club also delayed printing programmes, which saved more money.
Turner also said that ‘prudent’ spending had prevented the club from suffering a cash flow crisis during the big freeze but he added that all the players and staff were keen to resume fixtures
He added: “Normally that would mean a serious cash flow problem for most clubs but fortunately we have been a bit prudent in our spending so it isn’t a disaster but we want to be playing.”
Turner also revealed that the club is looking at the possibility of purchasing frost covers to prevent more games from falling victim to the weather.
The Bulls will certainly need all the help they can get at Bury on Saturday.
The Lancashire club are flying high in League Two and look set to retain skipper Steven Dawson, who says he wants to remain at Gigg lane despite interest from several clubs.
The Bulls will be without defender Ryan Green, who has started rehabilitation aftera hernia operation and is expected to be out for a month. The 27-year-old former Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves player is spending the week at the Lilleshall rehab centre in Shropshire to kick start his recovery.
