Everton Email Exchange

-----Original Message----From: colin.fitzp [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 23 January 2008 13:05 To: Ian Ross Cc: emma tyson; emma brown Subject: Private & Confidential Ian Hope you are well, apologies for not speaking sooner unfortunately I managed to contract the dreaded Novovirus followed by bronchitis so I was laid low for several weeks. The reason for my mail today is that I had a lengthy discussion with Malcolm Carter yesterday and I have a proposal for you. Malcolm will be in the city next month for meetings with various people, he has expressed an interest in meeting with some club officials but having attempted to contact Bill Kenwright, unsuccessfully, many times, he has asked my advice. My response was to contact you, I explained that I've had some dialogue with yourself and found you not only approachable but also always responsive. He has asked me to contact you on his behalf in order to see if you're agreeable in principle to such a meeting, perhaps you could involve those people at the club who would also have an interest in meeting Malcolm. Obviously the agenda will surround their Scotland Rd site, I'm aware that the club have a substantial report from Savill's and you're equally aware that Bestway have a report from HOK Sport that expresses the opposite view regarding the potential of the Loop site. What I think we can both agree on is that we can all find experts that are willing to prostitute themselves and say whatever you want. I believe Malcolm wants a frank discussion on the site being a potential contingency plan if the Kirkby project fails to come to fruition. Bill Kenwright himself indicated at the AGM that on behalf of the board he would look at this, I've copied him on this mail on this basis. I believe with the correct people at such a meeting you would discover the true potential and methodology behind the Loop site if it exists. Ian, I appreciate that this is a sensitive subject and you have my word that I'll treat it with the confidentially it deserves, whether you take up this offer or not it will remain confidential as will anything you may or may not discuss. You'll find Malcolm a very affable guy who comes across as a consummate professional. If you're in agreement I'll speak with Malcolm and pass on your contact details and then that's the end of my involvement. Look forward to hearing from you Kind regards Colin Fitzpatrick Secretary KEIOC 07977570113

-----Original Message----From: Ian Ross [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 05 February 2008 11:15 To: colin.fitzp Subject: RE: Private & Confidential Hi I did speak to Malcolm Carter ( 15 mins )...he was supposed to ring me back last week but he simply didn't bother. He argued that he should be allowed to meet with us here without providing the business plan, budget figures etc we said would be required..... I have discussed the matter with Keith Wyness - and we would NOT be prepared to meet unless we have what it was we originally asked for.....business plan, authenticated costings etc..... You won't care too much for this stance - but we have spent two years talking til we ended up blue in the face - and not once has anyone other than Tesco/KBC come forward with anything in written form. If he can come up with what we have asked for, no problem - we will meet him...if he can't, we won't If you could pass this message on to Malcom I would be grateful Cheers Ian

-----Original Message----From: colin.fitzp [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 06 February 2008 12:23 To: Ian Ross Cc: emma brown; emma tyson Subject: RE:Malcolm Carter Bestway Ian, I left a voice message for Malcolm and sent him an email yesterday which he's replied to, he's unavailable until this afternoon at which time he's promised to return my call, to be fair I never told him it was in connection with an email from you, I'll get back to you asap. You mention in your mail that I won't care too much for your stance regarding your original request for a full design costing and a business plan explaining how any scheme would be funded; to be perfectly honest it's a reasonable request except perhaps a little premature as I was of the opinion that the meeting Malcolm had requested was a precursor to the development of such a plan. I also acknowledge your clear frustration, talking for two years obviously isn't productive and it would appear that Malcolm shares your frustration that evidently, in both cases, is a result of dealing with LCC, although in the case of Malcolm it's less than twelve months. It appears both parties are being told different stories by Councillors and officers, and I believe Malcolm's intention is to clear the air between Everton and Bestway, establish if there is a real desire to move forward and identify the requirements of all parties concerned. I understand that Malcolm intends to meet with officers and officials of the council, amongst others, during his planned visit to the city. You may not be aware but the HOK Sport site assessment and the WSP Group Engineers traffic assessment were produced at a combined cost of ?30K. A basic feasibility study containing a comprehensive design costing, necessitating a design, development strategy, funding strategy and a detailed business plan would easily cost six figures. Assuming that Everton need a professional plan, produced for serious consideration, this would require the cooperation of not only Everton and Bestway but also LCC and the NWDA. In light of the progress of the Tesco planning application it would be an act of supreme futility on Bestway's part to unilaterally fund such a study if there was little hope of the project seeing light of day. Should Bestway fund a feasibility study that would benefit other parties? Conversely should Everton? I believe neither should fund any such study as the massive regeneration potential of the site has been acknowledged and as such I'm firmly of the opinion that the NWDA and LCC should jointly fund any such feasibility study. I'm aware that the club has stated that officers of the LCC have told them that the Scotland Rd site isn't viable, I'm equally aware of the alleged support being offered to Bestway from these same officers. Just to confuse the whole issue these are the officers that are heading up LCC's attack on the Knowsley IPS and the Tesco planning application, I can let you have a copy if you haven't seen them. Ian, these public sector workers and public servants seem to have been playing a game with both Everton and Bestway, I just hope you can combine, play them at their own

game and emerge with a tangible contingency plan if anything detrimental should happen to the current planning application. Simply put if these people are attempting to endanger your plans at Kirkby the very least they should do is provide a material alternative at their cost. Ultimately I suppose it all comes down to how confident you are with the strength of the Tesco Planning application. It's undeniably strong and offers real regeneration benefits to Kirkby, this needs to be balanced against its likelihood of success when all five neighbouring local authorities have stated that they are working on objections headed by the weight of Liverpool citing the Regional Spatial Strategy and Retail Hierarchy to name but a few extremely strong objections. If you're supremely confident that the application will sale through then I'd suggest you simply decline Malcolm's offer to save any further time wasting for both of you. If on the other hand the club would like a contingency plan in place then this could provide one or at least the club would have extensively examined one at no cost to the club. I would estimate that a professionally compiled feasibility report would take 2-3 months to compile, that's approximately the time planning approval / disapproval could be granted for the Tesco application. It may help that Trevor Skempton is willing to assist in his capacity on this project he's also very keen on talking about Goodison again with BK, I'll copy him again on this mail in the forlorn hope he'll respond, if he tells me to piss off that would be fair enough! Trevor's a fantastic resource, Newcastle are back in touch with him with regard to further commercial development at St James' Park. In closing do you know a John Seddon??? He's been in touch and wants to show some plans regarding Walton Hall Park. Kind Regards Colin

-----Original Message----From: Ian Ross [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 07 February 2008 09:53 To: colin.fitzp Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Morning I did receive a voicemail from Malcolm this morning. No-one can be " supremely confident " of anything re: planning applications...but...even if we did decide to meet anyone pushing an alternative site ( MC, LCC, John Seddon ) we certainly wouldn't do it during the weeks leading up to the decision on our application that would represent business/commercial suicide. Even then, anyone invited to the table would have to have etc etc etc - irrespective of the costs involved......if Malcolm is utterly convinced the loop site is suitable ( and we KNOW it isn't ) surely he won't mind forking out for a comprehensive business plan? Keep in touch Regards, Ian

-----Original Message----From: colin.fitzp [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 08 February 2008 12:01 To: Ian Ross Cc: Malcolm Carter; Bill Kenwright; Keith Wyness Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Ian To say I'm disappointed in yesterdays email would be an understatement. Two weeks ago you stated that, and I quote: "Myself and Keith will happily meet with Malcolm - with the proviso that he is able to produce (at any meeting) a full design costing and a business plan which explains how any scheme would be funded." This is transparently a device to prevent any such meeting taking place, it is clearly impossible to comply with such a request. Did Tesco arrive at their first meeting with the club with such comprehensive documentation without prior consultation? Of course not, they're a professional organisation, as I believe are Bestway. Having had the logical validity of these requests challenged by Malcolm Carter you needed to speak to Keith Wyness, on hearing nothing further from MC you contacted me and explained that, after speaking with KW, your position regarding the documentation remained firm, I attempted to explain the benefits of having an unconditional preliminary meeting in my email of 06/02/08 and I understand that MC left you a voicemail indicating he is still interested in such a meeting, offering to bring along Dawood Pervez to that meeting. Indeed I understand he would also welcome Colin Hilton and John Kelly there, as they are apparently keen supporters of the Loop site irrespective of what other people say. Yesterday's email appeared to move the goal posts yet again when you state, with regard to any potential meeting "we certainly wouldn't do it during the weeks leading up to the decision on our application - that would represent business/commercial suicide" and I despair at your use of the phrase "and we KNOW it isn't" in relation to the suitability of the Loop site, which clearly indicates any such meeting wouldn't be entered into with an open mind. Ian, neither of us are stupid, neither are any of the above people who have been cc'd, we both know, or at least I sincerely hope we both know, that this whole Kirkby Project is about to unravel. The Interim Policy Statement (IPS) is about to be shelved which prevents any modification of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) which in turn prevents planning approval of Tesco's CURRENT application being granted. The weight of objections from all five neighbouring authorities citing departure from the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) including non-compliance with stated Retail Hierarchy to name but a few of the objections raised, coupled with a growing number of residents objecting to the application has seen the planning officials take this decision, the councillors are running for cover and the Chief Executive of Knowsley left exposed as the only supporter of this, some would describe as ambitious I would say frivolous, scheme finds herself isolated with little

support from senior officers. Simply put, and as we've said all along, there is too much retail in the application for a town of this size and position with the RH, and the club has continually stated that this retail is the enabler for the Stadium; the planners have conceded defeat. Ian, in some perverse way, I'd like you to confirm that the above scenario isn't taking place but the evidence is there for all to see, Knowsley Council are telling Development Securities that they must speak with Tesco, Tesco have instigated this process, contingency plans are being initiated, Knowsley's officers are finishing compiling their report to the cabinet on the Interim Policy Statement and, having been briefed, the Council will now attempt to place a positive spin on the whole episode in a vain attempt to save face. Ian, are you and KW conversant with the planning documents and procedures mentioned in the above paragraph, can you just for my piece of mind confirm or deny that the above scenario isn't taking place? I ask this as I was sent a copy of KW's email plea to all Knowsley based Evertonians asking for them to be ambassadors for the club and write to Knowsley Council to offer support for the application, you're clearly aware at the club that something hasn't gone to plan. I also received the email sent ten minutes after the first that corrected the date that was indicated as when the planning application would be considered, from April 18th to simply "May". I believe I understand why April 18th is of huge financial significance to Everton and perhaps it's an obvious mistake to make under the circumstances. With regard to your second email I'd just like to confirm that there's no planning committee meeting in May whatsoever. Ian, when we first emailed each other you were very aggressive towards me, I wasn't, and you explained your position with regard to the KEIOC campaign and its supporters. I understood your position and explained that KEIOC had changed, new people had joined their campaign and that the original protest group had evolved to a pressure group that has developed a network of contacts amongst the various stakeholders involved in our targeted aims. Since that time we have remained in contact and have both conducted our conversations in a fairly civil manner. I hope this continues and that you endeavour to initiate the meeting, much much sooner than you indicate, with Malcolm Carter and the people he is offering to bring along, so that at least one of the promises made by Bill Kenwright at the recent AGM will be complied with. I'll state once again, it saddens me that BK continues to ignore all attempts at communication. Kind regards Colin Fitzpatrick

-----Original Message----From: Ian Ross [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 08 February 2008 12:15 To: colin.fitzp Cc: Keith Wyness Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Hi You are shooting the messenger.....I am non-aggressive to those who show me respect and common courtesy - as you have ( unlike some of your KEIOC colleagues ) I repeat we would not meet anyone until after we have a decision on our planning application and we would only be prepared to meet those who can provide more than enthusiastic sales patter and ideas which are not backed up by a comprehensive business and funding plan. My comments on the loop site are historically-based. As you well know, we have been saying ( categorically ) that our own experts have told us that the stadium we wish to construct would not fit on the available site and that if one was to be constructed on a plinth ( HOK ) the costs would be prohibitively high - possibly in excess of £300 million. If you are confident that the Kirkby scheme is about to " unravel" you know a damn sight more than we do here.....things continue to progress nicely on that front. There may not be a scheduled planning committee meeting in May - but they are easily convened. We have an open-door policy here at Everton - but, the truth is, we could never stage a " secret and confidential " meeting with either KEIOC or Bestway...and to have news of any such meeting spalshed across the pages of the DP and E and the various forums would, at this point in the Kirkby process, be hugely damaging. Ian

-----Original Message----From: colin.fitzp [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 08 February 2008 14:23 To: Ian Ross Cc: Bill Kenwright; Keith Wyness Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Ian You'll be pleased to know that I'm a poor shot! What I've stated in my previous email is what we've been told from our contacts in planning departments, other council offices and stakeholders, nothing, on my part, has been embellished whatsoever, it will either happen or it won't. To convene a planning / cabinet meeting in May will be a tall order, remember the elections are scheduled for that month and the committees and cabinet, post election are disbanded and need to be re-elected after the results. Given the required seven day notice, perhaps not impossible but certainly difficult. I believe that the total cost of building on the Loop site is irrelevant, £200, 300, 400, 500 million is only relative to the available funding from the various agencies, it's what left, what Everton have to contribute, which is the important factor, if unacceptable then that's the end of it. I'm pleased to hear about the open door policy, why not simply place a two-month (?) media moratorium on LCC, Bestway and EFC preventing the meeting and its agenda being discussed as a realistic proviso to any proposed preliminary meeting? I'm certain that Bestway and LCC would agree to this, it's down to you. I don't see the benefit or the need for anyone at KEIOC to be at any proposed meeting, meetings should only be for people who actually bring something to the table. I wouldn't discount a separate meeting between KEIOC and Everton if at some point you wished to canvass interest, support or listen to some interesting ideas we may have regarding participation in the clubs activities in a new or redeveloped stadium, but that's for another time. Nobody from the media, or Internet forums, will hear anything from myself. I believe that I can speak for Dave Kelly on this matter also. My fear here is that at some point Malcolm Carter will become bored with this whole process, at the moment he's genuinely interested in exploring the possibilities. See what you can do? Kind regards Colin

-----Original Message----From: Ian Ross [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 09 February 2008 12:28 To: colin.fitzp Cc: Keith Wyness Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Hi Just FYI - Yes, Tesco DID turn up at the first meeting with a comprehensive business plan, a costing report, a feasibility study....they were armed to the teeth. Anyone similarly prepared will benefit from our open-door policy - but not at the moment. Ian

From: colin.fitzp [[email protected]] Sent: 11 February 2008 16:32 To: Ian Ross Cc: Malcolm Carter; Keith Wyness; Bill Kenwright Subject: RE: Malcolm Carter Bestway Hello Ian Apologies for the curt response to your mail on Saturday, when received I was at a meeting that went on till almost kick off. I've looked at your mail several times and to be honest I'm astonished by this revelation. Obviously I don't doubt your honesty when you tell me of Tesco's monumental ability in anticipating the exact requirements of a major premiership club, with regard to a new stadium development, without any preliminary discussions being held in order to determine those requirements. You've always been perfectly straight with me in the past and I can see no reason why this would change now. What I'm astonished at, well there's two things to be honest, firstly I'm speechless that the board of Everton so readily accepted and endorsed a scheme that was so blatantly in fundamental breech of one of its own tests "deliverability" The board must have taken expert advice on this before embarking on this fantastic voyage of folly? Even a cursory examination of the current and emerging planning regulations clearly indicate that this whole project fails to comply with local, regional and national planning regulations, specifically Knowsley's UDP, the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Retail Hierarchy found within. This scheme has never and will never be, in its present format, deliverable. As a mere fan the above scenario is bad enough but it pales into insignificance when the enormity of this information is understood. You've confirmed to me that the club were in receipt of a comprehensive business plan, a costing report and a feasibility report, allegedly you were armed to the teeth with information yet prior to the ballot and in fact during the ballot the fans, that's the fans of the peoples club, were fed information on the cost to the club being "effectively free" to £35,000,000. The costs were up and down like the proverbial brides nightdress! And all the time you had full and comprehensive plans and reports? Ian, if BK felt the shareholders were angry at the AGM, if KW believes that it's best not to meet the Kirkby residents as they may be hostile (source G. Howarth) then that's nothing to what the fans will be when they hear this. As I said on Thursday, neither of us is stupid, the IPS is finished; it will be a mere background document. The amount of retail and the opposition against this, based on the aforementioned local, regional and national planning regulations cited by all five neighbouring authorities is simply to much opposition. You no doubt read the Daily Post on Saturday morning, the leader of the Lib Dems in Knowsley, who, incidentally, sits on the planning committee and will have been given a full briefing by the planning officers, is attempting to make political capital out of this situation, pathetically transparent but there you go. On Friday evening George Howarth attempted to place some similar spin on the whole

sorry episode in an attempt to placate his Labour council cohorts when claiming, to Kirkby residents, that KMBC had "succeeded in getting DS and Tesco around the table and that Tesco will be talking on behalf of Everton" So now what's the new scenario, the good old British compromise??? DS get to develop the retail, Tesco get their Extra store and Knowsley get their redevelopment. With no enabler though what happens to Everton? Will they simply be invited to participate but now the cost will be what? £95,000,000??? It will be either be complete failure or a massive increase in cost will be announced but whatever the scenario Everton should never have even looked at Kirkby, because from day one the scheme was undeliverable by it's own standards, if they failed to discover this then they're incompetent at best. The boards' endorsement of this Kirkby project as deliverable certainly places a different emphasis on their dismissal of the Loop site as undeliverable. Thanks for the information. Speak to you soon Colin Fitzpatrick Secretary KEIOC