CITY of York Council leader Coun Steve Galloway has firmly rejected claims that the council has done little to help York City in its fight for survival.

He defended the local authority's stance at a meeting of the full Council on Tuesday and believed it had put forward an affordable working plan for Huntington Stadium.

Here are extracts of the statement he made to that meeting.

"The council has agreed to allow the football club to use a stadium, with a present day site value alone of around £4 million, rent free for 10 years.

"This represents a very substantial commitment by council taxpayers towards the club.

"In addition, I estimate that the amount of professional officer time invested so far in this issue by the council would be valued at in excess of £50,000.

"We have offered to provide professional advice as the new club directors develop their business plan - an offer so far not taken up.

"I therefore view with disbelief the claims of those supporters that the 'council hasn't done anything to help the club'. That is simply not true.

"Senior officials have worked tirelessly to try to find a way out of a situation which was entirely the making of the previous club directors.

"I suspect that we have already gone further than most council taxpayers would have wished and certainly further than many other councils would have gone.

The council will not be bounced into making any kind of extravagant gesture.

"There is a workable solution on the table. Our officials are prepared to assist with remodelling the club's financial plans.

In the longer term, I believe that opportunities will arise to move and improve athletics facilities in the city.

"I very much doubt whether that can now be done by May 2004.

"Furthermore there are a whole series of other issues which need to be addressed before the move of the club to Huntington can be finalised.

"Not least amongst these, is the need for a planning permission to be sought.

"If this does not happen very quickly now, the possibility of the matter being called in and potentially delayed for months, becomes a very real one.

"This would be beyond the ability of the council or the club to influence.

"Prior to any planning application being submitted, that is a considerable amount of work to be completed in relation to transport and parking issues. Consultation with the local community and nearby traders must also be undertaken.

"Time is not on anyone's side. I greatly admire the work done by the new directors of the football club.

"Few would willingly take on the responsibilities of a business that had been losing money for years, that was largely without physical assets and beset by both liabilities and a harsh timetable imposed by others who seemed largely insensitive to the practicalities involved.

"York benefits from having vibrant professional sports clubs in the area.

"The club's plans to improve community links, together with the more democratic way of managing affairs, may well prove to be a template for similar smaller clubs elsewhere to follow.

"The council will continue to support the football club, the rugby club, athletics interests and other sporting bodies in the city within our powers and means.

"But there will have to be compromises and now timescales dictate that an achievable and mutually agreed solution is required immediately."

Ruling out the possibility of subjecting Bootham Crescent, the club's current home, to a compulsory purchase order, Galloway stated: "Professional advice given to the council was that such a step would be unlikely to be successful and that in any event an independent tribunal would set the sale price for the ground and this would reflect potential values.

"The owner could choose to appeal against both the principle of CPO and any valuation and hence the process could take many years to conclude and without any guarantee of success.

"The availability of another stadium in the city made it less likely that the CPO process could even reach the first hurdle."

Updated: 09:41 Thursday, July 10, 2003