John Crace, in his article on Tottenham Hotspur's plans for the Olympic Stadium (You cannot be serious, G2, 27 January), asserts that Haringey council believed "it had the club over a barrel" and "sought to exact ever greater financial commitments". He is way off the mark. Section 106 planning agreements are standard procedure in all large-scale planning applications and set out a contribution from the developers to offset the impact of their plans on local infrastructure. In the case of Spurs' Northumberland Development Project, the S106 is worth around �15-16m ? less than 3.5% of what Spurs say the development will cost and not the reason for Stratford being "cheaper". If Spurs were to develop the Olympic site, they would have to make a similar S106 agreement with Newham council.
Perhaps as a Spurs supporter, Crace should question how the club concludes that the land it still needs in Tottenham ? around 15% of the total site ? will cost �200m in compulsory purchases. Assuming the figure is correct, I'm sure Spurs would have done their sums before coming to the planning committee with their proposals. Contrary to Crace's claim that the suggested Stratford move was a "shot across the bows" of the council, Spurs' interest in the Olympic site had no bearing on the planning process. Indeed, Spurs only announced their bid for the Olympic site after their plans for Northumberland Park won unanimous backing from Haringey's planning committee last September.
Haringey council was enthusiastic and supportive of Spurs throughout the planning process, which took around two years. It also supported Spurs in their submissions to English Heritage and Transport for London and has granted in principle agreement for compulsory purchase orders to enable the club to acquire what remaining land it needs. The council has never been asked by Spurs to make a financial contribution to its plans. The council has always been committed to keeping Spurs in Tottenham and the club has been embedded in our long-term plans for the borough since the early 1990s.
Cllr Claire Kober
Leader, Haringey council
? Hollow laughter is one response to the dilemmas created by the London-based trough-snouting tendency (Dome, Wembley, Olympics), for whom the easy way is always to pour local concrete than to invest in what the country needs. However, as a Rotherham season-ticket holder, currently observing the beautiful game across eight lanes of an athletics stadium, I should advise West Ham supporters that they would regret losing the smell of the wintergreen and the roar of the crowd.
John McGrother
Buxton, Derbyshire
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/29/haringey-support-spurs-in-tottenham
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