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London Stadium state aid complaint unresolved

255px-Flag_of_Europe.svgA complaint made to the European Commission about possible illegal state aid for the London Stadium remains unresolved papers from the London Legacy Development Corporation have revealed.

The LLDC Investment committee is due to meet next week on 20th December and the report says the stadium owners are still awaiting a response from the EU despite replying over a year ago.

The report written by LLDC Acting CEO Gerry Murphy says: “We are still waiting for a response from the EU regarding the complaint made in relation to state aid on the Stadium. The Corporation’s response to the complaint was sent on 6 September 2016. In November 2017 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy contacted us with correspondence from the EU notifying us that they would be releasing the non-confidential papers from our response to the complainant unless we expressly refused permission. Permission was given, however additional redactions were applied to our response letter following legal advice as it would impact on current legal action. No update on the status of the complaint has been received.”

The original state aid complaint was raised in 2011 by an Architect but has already been closed so this is a new complaint from an interested party which most likely a rival football club. State aid is mentioned 39 times in the recent Moore Stephens report into the London Stadium and there appears to remain a risk that the European Commission could open an investigation.

The complaint is believed to centre on state subsidy accruing to a football club as a result of beneficial terms for the stadium lease and possibility of state subsidy arising as a result of financial support on preferential terms from public sector body to a football club.

 

About Sean Whetstone

I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called MooreThanJustaPodcast.co.uk. A Blogger on WestHamTillIdie.com a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball, I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh. Life Long singer of bubbles! Come on you Irons! Follow me at @Westhamfootball on twitter

2 comments on “London Stadium state aid complaint unresolved

  1. How can it possibly take so long? It has dragged on for 6 years. The longer it continues the more our club’s name is dragged through the mud. SORT IT !!!

  2. I can’t see it getting through, the club haven’t been getting any money from the state, the £40m was provided by Newham not to West Ham themselves but towards the conversion of the stadium as a loan because the redevelopment would benefit Newham so it was a business decision which can be argued that has been financially good for Newham and will proceed to benefit Newham in the long term.

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