Bellshill Athletic - a club in crisis

Jun 9 2011 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

BELLSHILL Athletic is a club in crisis this week as they face being made homeless – for the second time in three years.

Talks between the club and North Lanarkshire Council officials, which have been taking place over a two-year period, have reached apparent stalemate.

Frustrated club chairman Paul Fox hit out: “After two years of talks and at least three options tabled for a new home for the club, we're still no further on.

“Now we must inform the SJFA (Scottish Junior Football Association) prior to their annual general meeting later this month where we will be playing our home games next season.

“Our local councillors Harry McGuigan, Richard Lyle and Harry Curran have been supportive and helpful but NLC officials are not helping us at all. It’s unbelievable!

“It appears West End Park at the Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre is a no-go area next season, apparently due to cutbacks affecting the temporary dressing room accommodation the council provided for the club after they were controversially turfed out of New Brandon Park.

“The most ambitious project put forward for the club's new home centred on the Bellshill Academy Park adjacent to the town centre.”

Paul Fox explained: “We had arranged funding of £2.8million from various national sports bodies to build a sports facility which would have laid the foundation for a community club involving Bellshill and Mossend Boys’ Club.

“Now we have been told by council officials that this is not an option!

“We also suggested moving into a park area on the Bothwellhaugh side of Strathclyde Park which would still have kept the club in Bellshill and remain part of the community.

“But council officials rejected this. Apparently someone else is interested.

“The council did suggest the possibility of a site in the Watling Street area of Motherwell, but that would mean taking Bellshill Athletic and Bellshill fans, out of Bellshill.

“We need the support and backing of people in Bellshill if Bellshill Athletic is to continue and flourish, and we believe the best way to achieve that is by being based in Bellshill and promote ourselves as a Bellshill community club.

“This uncertainty also means an added difficulty for our manager Gerry Creaney when he is talking to players about re-signing and trying to attract new players to the club.”

Ground-share is a possibility short-term, but on the previous occasion when the club were forced to take this option by using Vale of Clyde's ground it didn't appeal to fans, who found it difficult and costly getting to the Tollcross ground.

The 114 year-old club have not had their troubles to seek since selling off their original Brandon Park home to a local property developer in a deal that promised the club a modern new home at New Brandon Park on Hattonrigg Road.

But after five seasons things turned sour and the property developer who had adopted a role as club chief executive passed his interest in the club to a new management committee headed by Paul Fox.

But the ground troubles did not end there. The club was twice banned from playing at New Brandon Park, partly because there was no electricity. Scottish Power bills had not been paid by the ground owner who soon after that closed the premises.