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Weekly unearths historic covenant in bid to bring football club home

A weekly newspaper has launched a campaign to bring a football club home after it uncovered a 67-year-old document in an investigation.

The Basingstoke Gazette is petitioning Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council and landowner Rafi Razzak to honour a covenant, signed in 1953, which states Camrose football ground should remain a sports facility until 2053.

The ground was the home of Basingstoke Town FC until last year, when Mr Razzak, the club’s former chairman, submitted plans to develop the site into 89 houses – forcing the team to play 19 miles away in Winchester.

It was rumoured that the covenant to protect the ground existed, but people in Basingstoke had previously been led to believe it was either “missing” or “did not exist” – until the Gazette uncovered a copy of the document via the Land Registry last week.

Basingstoke Town

The covenant was signed in 1953 by the then-landowner Lord Camrose, the former owner and editor of the Sunday Times, and the Gazette is now calling on Mr Razzak and the council, which owns 30pc of the site, to honour it by allowing the club to return there or replacing the stadium with a like-for-like sporting facility.

Editor Katie French told HTFP on Thursday: “For many years, the public were led to believe a covenant was ‘missing’ or did not exist. This was not true.

“Through excellent work by our sports editor Graham Merry and the team here at the Gazette, we’ve obtained a copy which states in black and white the wishes of Lord Camrose who so passionately believed in community sport and having the football club at the heart of the town.

“We’ve had an enormous amount of support from the sporting community on this story and we’re really grateful to everyone for raising awareness about Basingstoke Town Football Club’s plight.

“Tomorrow we’re launching a petition calling on Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council and the landowner to respect the covenant. While legally the area is grey, morally the answer is straight-forward.”

The Gazette’s previous coverage of the issue was shared 2,000 times on Twitter, winning the support of sporting figures including Gary Lineker and Times chief football writer Henry Winter.

But Mr Razzak has called debate over the covenant “ridiculous”, previously telling the Gazette: “It has saddened me that it has come to this after 22 years at the football club. What would I gain with that support for 20 years?

“The money I put down was to help the club to build a stadium at National League standard. I did it for the right reasons for the football club and the community, like everything else I have done.

“There is no future at the Camrose. The club needed £100,000 a year to continue to play at the Camrose which I funded myself for 20 years. I have had enough of funding the club.”