September 22 - Kenneth Clarke (pictured), the former Chancellor who is the MP for Rushcliffe, has backed Nottinghamshire County Council's refusal to support Nottingham's bid to build a new stadium to stage matches in the 2018 World Cup if England are chosen to host the tournament.



The Tory has come out in support of the County Council's Leader Kay Cutts, who announced last week she would withdraw the authority's support for a new development – including a stadium and housing – on green-belt land in Gamston, badly damaging Nottingham's campaign to be chosen from the 16 cities and towns currently bidding to be chosen by the Football Association.

Clarke said: "The first thing that needs to be decided is whether this is a suitable area for a major development.

"My understanding is that 4,000 houses would be built.


"We need to know how it's proposed to provide public services and transport for these new people.

"The football stadium appears to be a small part of the overall scheme and depends on whether the bid to FIFA ever succeeds."

Cutts said the County Council could not remain part of the World Cup bid if the site at Gamston was the only option for a proposed stadium.
 

She claimed the City Council and Nottingham Forest, who would move into the new stadium, did not consult the County Council before announcing the proposals.

Clarke, a Forest fan, has claimed that interest in the World Cup in Nottingham would be minimal unless England or another major country were playing in the city.

He said: "I also attended matches in the [1996] European Championship - one between Turkey and Portugal at the City Ground - and the crowd was disappointing, rather like that of a reserve match.
 

"Interest in a game tends to depend on whether the English or another big team plays in Nottingham.

"With all due respect, Japan versus South Africa will draw a small crowd.


"My own view is that everyone is getting over-excited too quickly and concentrating too much on the football.

"Thousands more commuters along the Radcliffe Road is really the more serious problem.


"I'm not surprised the County Council's first reaction to thousands of commuters is alarm."


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July 2009: Eriksson backs Nottingham World Cup bid