Thursday 19 March 2015 11:37, UK
St Johnstone have reacted angrily after local councillors voted to allow a controversial relief road to be built through their new £100,000 training base in Perth.
Last season's winners of the Scottish Cup say the vote by Perth and Kinross Council will mean the loss of their new training ground, which lies next to McDiarmid Park and is a vital part of their detailed youth development plans.
Following a heated debate, the council voted by eight to five on Wednesday to support the compulsory purchase order of the land next to the club's main ground in Perth to make way for a new link road to be built in the city.
The training centre was only finished last year, includes a synthetic surface and a new grass training pitch, and was built to meet the standards demanded for it to be a Scottish Football Association academy.
The Saints say the training ground is at the heart of the club's detailed blueprint to nurture the next generation of players and had called on the council to find an alternative route for the road.
Until it was built, the club had to send its players to train 30 miles away at Stirling University.
St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown told the Daily Record: “There are a lot of things at stake.
“We could lose our SFA licence rating because we won’t be able to have the youth teams playing alongside each other.
“We have spent well over £100,000 on the pitch in the last few years and if we have to go back to Stirling University full-time it would cost us £40,000 a year.
“There are other things, like the Park and Ride we did for the Ryder Cup. Stuff like being a hub for T in the Park would no longer be possible so there is an income issue looking ahead.
“But it’s not just about the football and the money, we want our players based here in Perth so they’re part of the community.
“We have been in a consultation process for the last 18 months and that hasn’t finished yet so it’s bizarre they have just forged on with this before it is even concluded.
“We are not opposed to the road but there are other options and they have not even been taken into consideration.
“We are not looking for special treatment because there is a lot of local opposition to this from other people affected too - it’s about not being disadvantaged.
“I always thought we lived in a democratic country but I’m obviously mistaken.”
Saints manager Tommy Wright echoed his views that losing the training centre would shatter the club's efforts to run a well co-ordinated, high-quality, youth structure that would build success in the future for the senior side.
