Wednesday 22 February 2017 15:12, UK
Lewisham Council is expected to give the go-ahead for an independent inquiry into inaccurate claims of funding by a property developer at the heart of a land deal which threatened Millwall's existence in the borough.
Council documents seen by Sky Sports News HQ recommend "that an independent inquiry be established into matters related to the compulsory purchase order (CPO) of land at New Bermondsey/ Surrey Canal".
They recommend a QC be appointed with a budget of £500,000 and, on Wednesday night, council members are expected to give the go-ahead.
The move would be welcomed by League One side and FA Cup quarter-finalists Millwall, who always questioned the CPO of the land around their stadium before Lewisham mayor Steve Bullock called for an end to the CPO.
Plans to seize Millwall's land around the Den as part of the New Bermondsey regeneration project were put on hold last month when questions surfaced around funding promises.
Offshore registered property developer Renewal, via its charity Surrey Canal Sports Foundation (SCSF), proposed to build a new community sports centre as part of its bid to develop the land around the Den, and also applied for a grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA).
In a 2014 bid document seen by Sky Sports News HQ, SCFS claimed Sport England had agreed £2m of funding for the sports centre, a key component of the New Bermondsey development.
However, Sport England has confirmed that it wrote to the charity asking it to stop making inaccurate claims that it had Sport England funding.
The documents also claim charity OnSide Youth Zones was a key stakeholder. OnSide Youth Zones has confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ that it had no formal agreement with SCFS or the developer.
The regeneration scheme, led by Renewal, also secured more funding of £20m from Mayor of London Boris Johnson after advice from Lewisham Council. However, the Mayor's office says the Sport England funding did not relate to its decision to release the funds.
A City Hall spokesperson said: "In August 2015, the previous Mayor allocated £20m of funding towards bringing forward a new station and transport interchange in the New Bermondsey Housing Zone.
"The presence or not of any Sport England funding was not a consideration in the decision to allocate this funding. Without a decision on the ownership of the land, this funding remains unpaid."
A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: "We were not informed by Renewal that they had been told by Sport England in 2014 to stop claiming that £2m had been pledged for the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation.
"We provided a letter of support for the housing zone bid that Renewal made to the GLA. An independent inquiry will look into issues that have been raised concerning the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation and New Bermondsey CPO. Once the inquiry is complete, the outcome will be reported to full Council and made public."
In a statement, Renewal acknowledged "that it jumped the gun in referring to the clear support of Sport England in correspondence between 2011 and 2013 as a "pledge", and apologised to Sport England being "slow out of the blocks" in removing references to the "pledge".
