THE sale of the County Ground to the club and Supporters’ Trust will net the council a £2.2m windfall.

That is more than double the price Swindon Town Supporters’ Trust was offering for the ground just a few years ago.

And leader of the council David Renard said it was a good deal for both the club, the authority and the town.

Speaking at a press conference at the ground announcing that agreement in principle had been reached, Coun Renard said: “The sum is more than the trust originally wanted to buy the ground for, and that’s perhaps why it’s taken this long to get to this agreement.

“As the borough council it is incumbent on us to get the best deal we can for the people of Swindon when we sell public assets. The ground has been independently assessed as being worth £2.2m and we think that’s a fair price.

“That’s why I think it’s the best thing that it’s a combination of the club and the supporters’ trust that is buying the ground – it means there’s protection for the club, the fans, the community and the council.”

A covenant placed on the land by the Goddard estate, which originally owned it, ensured that once the council sold the ground, it wouldn’t be turned into housing for a quick profit to the club.

Cllr Renard added: “That covenant is still in place and it says the whole site must be used for sports and leisure purposes and I don’t imagine the Goddard estate would be looking to lift that covenant.

“Any further development would have to go though the planning process and be approved by the planning committee at the borough council anyway.”

Club owner and chairman Lee Power said he was keen to look at ideas to use the ground more frequently in order to bring more money to the club.

“In modern football, there aren’t many clubs any more that don’t own their own ground,” he said.

“We’ll be looking at ways of getting more use of the ground, so it becomes a seven day a week venue – and we haven’t been able to do that up until now.

"This is a club that’s probably two divisions below where it should be, and I think this will be a way of helping get back up there.”

The football club plays rent to the council for its use of the stadium, but Coun Renard said he couldn’t say how much that was on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

He said: “We will be losing a revenue stream to the council – but anyone will tell you that this ground hadn’t been upgraded for quite a long time.

"Selling it to the club and the supporters trust will bring the council some money, but it will also allow much more investment in the ground and the site, it’s a key area of town, it’s one of the main gateways into the town centre, and it needs that investment.

"We think allowing that to happen is worth the loss of the revenue stream.”

The club and trust have a year to get the money together to buy the ground – Coun Renard said he understood the club already has the funds and the supporters’ trust will be holding a share issue to attract investment.

The sale has to be agreed by the borough council’s Conservative cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday, March 20.

Coun Renard said: “This agreement has to be approved by cabinet, but I expect my colleagues to be fully supportive of this sale.”