Warring councils went head-to-head on the penultimate day of the nine-week public inquiry into Everton FC and Tesco’s proposals for Kirkby. Richard Down reports on the closing statements

EVERTON and Tesco’s £400m Kirkby scheme fails every test that the Secretary of State has set it, opposing councils told a planning inspector yesterday.

Roger Lancaster, barrister for the combined authorities objectors, said the plans put the supposed needs of a private football club and a multi-national supermarket above that of the people of Kirkby.

The plans will damage the town centre, regeneration will never actually take place, and Kirkby’s neighbours will be pulled down along with it, he added.

In his closing argument, Mr Lancaster said: “It is rare indeed to be confronted by a proposal that fails every test that it should properly be measured against.”

He added: “At the end of the day, Everton is a private company whose profits and losses accrue to the shareholders.”

Everton’s failure to get planning permission for houses to be built on their former Bellefield training ground has left a hole in their budget for the new stadium, he went on.

Worse still, the new stadium might not even help Everton that much, the inquiry heard.

Stephen Sauvain, QC for Liverpool City Council, agreed.

He said: “There is no proven connection between the provision of a new stadium and the future success of a football club.

“The club is and has been consistently successful on the football field. No doubt the value of the club will increase if a new stadium is provided at a subsidised cost – but this is not a planning matter.

“No convincing reason has been given for why Everton could not wait an extra few years to bring forward a more considered proposal – other than the fear that Tesco might withdraw and take their ball home.”

Both lawyers said that any belief that the project would improve Kirkby town centre was deeply flawed.