Coventry City Council have issued the following statement after the decision that SISU are entitled to a full judicial review.
The statement is as follows:
The leader of Coventry City Council gives her reaction to the outcome of Friday’s High Court hearing.
Cllr Ann Lucas, Leader of the Council said:
“We are disappointed that the Judge has today allowed this Judicial Review to proceed to a court hearing, but are confident we have a robust defence to all the claims made in the JR and look forward to the court hearing that will allow us to share this defence publicly.
Whilst the outcome of the hearing today is disappointing, it is not entirely unexpected. The judge has decided that there should be a full hearing in court. That is how it should be. Justice must be open and transparent.The legal advice that the Council has received is that there is merit in defending the proceedings. I have a duty to the people of Coventry to defend their assets.
We did not want this court action, and believe no-one benefits from costly litigation that could end up costing Coventry taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal costs alone.
Regardless of all legal action I am happy to talk to Joy Seppala again, and her colleagues, to see if compromise can be reached. I want Coventry City Football Club to play at the Ricoh Arena, but not on terms that would not justify public scrutiny.
What matters to us most is, in the short term, getting the Sky Blues back at the Ricoh Arena and we appeal to Sisu/Otium to get back round the table with us and talk about bringing the team home as quickly as possible so thousands of fans can once more see the team they love play in their rightful home.
We want to rebuild a relationship of trust with the club’s owners. This is best done through a return to the Ricoh Arena. I am sure ACL will want to make it as attractive and easy as possible for Sisu/Otium to do this. We have a long way to go to rebuild our relationship, but I urge us all to start this today. I know that all councillors will support me in this, and we will do all we can to help this process.”
Source: Coventry MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
