A brief informal statement from me personally as Chair of the Wakefield & District Community Trust.

At 9.30am on Thursday 27th July, I understand that Sir Rodney Walker and his yet unknown colleagues, are meeting at the offices of Chadwick Lawrence. I can also confirm that as of this time no new Trust company with Sir Rodney as a Director/Trustee is showing as been registered with either Companies House or the Charity Commission.

I was invited to attend said meeting by Sir Rodney but last night called him and left a message declining and offering both my apologies and an explanation as to why I would not be attending. I have previously been very clear that I would not let anyone or anything get in the way of seeing a community stadium built and that anyone who feels that they can offer help and assistance in doing so would be welcome to work with and potential be invited to join (or rejoin) this Trust. This is still unequivocally the case.

In light of Cllr Peter Box comments in the council chamber yesterday and the comments he made in last weeks press release following our meeting, he has made it very clear that it is this Trust, The Wakefield and District Community Trust, that he wishes the council and developer to work with to hopefully (and finally) facilitate and deliver a community stadium. He has expressed a further wish that everyone should come together and work towards this common objective and I wholeheartedly agree with those sentiments.

As such, I have once again invited Sir Rodney to rejoin this Trust and also made it clear that we would consider any new Trustees he wished to propose and whom he felt may be able to also work towards this shared objective.

It is now clear that Sir Rodney (and his unknown colleagues) have two clear choices, he (they) can decide to accept our offer to work and join with us or, if not, they should quite simply walk away and allow this Trust to continue in its unswerving and unabashed attempts to deliver the community stadium the citizens of Wakefield were promised.

If we don't hear from Sir Rodney (and his colleagues) before close of business on Friday 28th July, accepting our invitation, then we will have to assume that they have decided on another course of action.

We hope they either decide to work with us or walk away and allow this Trust to continue to move forward. Any other course of action is clearly no longer helping or helpful.

The Trustees and I are determined as ever to see a community stadium delivered to the wonderful and deserving people of the City of Wakefield and we remain mandated, privileged and committed to do so.

Jonathan Stone

Thanks for the update. Do you know what exactly was on the agenda at the meeting? Also what do Chadwick bring to the table, are they YC's advisors or SRW's?

Thanks for the update. It's a lot more diplomatic than I could/would be. Given his recent actions and inactions I'm not sure I could trust RW as far as I could throw him.

It's pretty obvious they still see a third option, the one where they are the new main trust, the one which will cause more delays and confusion. I bet i know which one they choose.

No, despite asking for one and also whom else would be at the meeting he did not tell me either. That is another reason I felt I should decline his invitation.

I am assuming that someone at Chadwick Lawrence is one of his proposed trustee?

Thank you Jonathan for that statement (which makes things very clear) and for all your efforts in the face of what must repeatedly be intensely frustrating to say the least. I hope you all continue to the success that Wakefield Trinity and the City of Wakefield deserves.

This

100 percent agree with the sentiments above

could we not of staked out the Chadwick Lawrence and seen you turned up

Sheer arrogance from Walker !

The man has been a failure as chairman of the last trust and now he purports to have another trust to take over proceedings.

I would like to know what mandate or authority he has.

Furthermore for a man of his age who claims to be very wealthy, I would be interested to know what is driving him. This whole stadium affair is a thankless task so there must be a very large and appealing carrot being dangled in front of Walker for him to be so persistent.

Is this meeting planned at the Chadwick Lawrence premises that has Yorkcourt as its developer?

[urlhttp://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/new-ventures-mushroom-at-paragon-park-1-949944[/url

It's right next door. Ironically, however, so is Beaumont Legal.

Think so.

Thanks for the update.

Isn't it nice of Wakefield Council chief executive,to give Colin Mackie such praise..... NOT

That was a decade ago.

This has always been a question I have. What mandate does Walker have? He doesn't represent the fans, the club, the community or anyone but himself. Why does he feel that he is empowered to make this happen.

If I walked up to a developer and said "Hey will you help me build a community stadium?" they would more likely tell me where to go since I have no mandate to even enter into any such discussion.

The mandate he has is from the company that doesn't actually want to build it and has done all it can to avoid building it.

Spot on Slugger.

Well I am sure Mackie must be very pleased how Walker managed to agree with the council that Newcold should not be part of the trigger area.

And now wants to build a load of houses instead of the job creating warehouses it promised... I wonder how much that could be worth? And what could rod possibly want to be associated with that for??
££££££££££££££££....

more delays is all I see and more mumble jumble to keep people thinking a stadium will be built- been hearing same rubbish for 10 years----- we need to bite the bullet now and get a ground outside of Wakefield before its to late- which could be 1 aug 2017!!!!!!

Seriously, bore off.

He keeps you on your feet lol

I take it Rodders didn't acccept the invite to join up with the trust then?

No and his Trust still still does not appear to have been registered with Companies House.