Everton lawyers hold vital key for £400m stadium

After Everton's board meets, representatives from Tesco, Knowsley Council, and the club will then gather to decide a way forward.

Last night, a club source said a new stadium was needed as a matter of urgency and, whatever the decision taken, staying at Goodison in its current form was not viable in the long term.

If Kirkby falls through, Everton will have to re-examine re-development of Goodison Park or moving elsewhere.

A source at the Department for Communities and Local Government, which is over-seeing the process, said officials recognised the importance and urgency of a swift decision.

Knowsley Council will be written to again within the next few days to let the authority know the name of the planning inspector that will handle the case.

Everton FC, Tesco, and Knowsley Council will then have to prepare a statement of "common ground" for the inquiry.

Public inquiries into schemes of this size usually hear a number of weeks of evidence. The recent inquiry into the plans to build more than 1,300 homes on Liver-pool's former Garden Festival site took three weeks with an additional week extension.

It usually takes a number of months for an inquiry to be convened to give the parties time to prepare their cases and also to coordinate the diaries of the inspector and the leading barristers that will argue the case.

It is anticipated that the legal costs in the case for Everton could be between £1.5m and £2m.

The public inquiry is likely to delay the scheme by around a year, and the cost of steel for the scheme could increase by £15m to £20m, while around £15m could be lost in revenue.

Last night, a spokesman for Tesco said: "We are obviously very disappointed with the decision to call-in the proposals for Kirkby.

"This project would regenerate the town centre, create over 2,000 new jobs in the region, and deliver world- class facilities for Everton.

"In times of growing economic uncertainty, the case for this regeneration project has never been so clear, and it is viable only because it is a single, comprehensive development combining the stadium, retail and leisure.

"We are pressing the Government to fix a date for a public inquiry at the earliest possible time."

Why minister stepped in to order stadium inquiry

CONCERNS over the "significant effects" beyond the immediate locality of Kirkby have led the Government to call a public inquiry into Everton FC's proposed move to the town.

A letter to Knowsley Council sent on behalf of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears stated she felt she ought to decide herself the outcome of the £400m scheme.

The letter states that "in general . . . this step [is only taken] if planning issues of more than local importance are involved.

"Having regard to this policy, the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the application is one that she ought to decide herself because she considers that the proposals may conflict with national policies on important matters, could have significant effects beyond their immediate locality, and give rise to substantial regional controversy."

The public inquiry will cover the following matters:

Whether the proposed development accords with the development plan for the area;

The extent to which the proposed development is consistent with Government policies in Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres, particularly with regard to:

Whether there is a qualitative and quantitative need for a retail development;

If the scale of the proposed development has been demonstrated as appropriate;

Whether there are any more central sites capable of accommodating the proposed development;

The impact of the proposed development on the vitality and viability of nearby centres;

Whether the application is in accordance with the retail hierarchy of the sub-region;

Whether the development should be promoted through the development plan process, rather than through a planning application;

The accessibility of the site by all means of transport and the promotion of linked shopping trips between the development to the south of Cherryfield Drive and the existing town centre;

Whether the application would deliver a sustainable form of development;

Whether the application promotes sustainable transport choices and reduces the need to travel by private transport as identified;

Whether it has fully considered the requirements of PPG17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, with particular regard to the loss of open space and playing fields.