Council want assurances over Tynie revamp plan

EDINBURGH Council will not give Hearts the green light to purchase land surrounding Tynecastle until they receive assurances that it will be solely be used to redevelop the stadium.

The Tynecastle club have moved a step closer to agreeing a £6million deal which will enable them to redevelop Tynecastle. They are believed to have reached an agreement in principle with Edinburgh Council to purchase ground surrounding the stadium for £5.9million, thus allowing them to push ahead with plans to construct a new 12,000 seater main stand.

However, the Council, who were expected to rubber-stamp the deal this month, first have to be convinced that the ground will not be used for other purposes.

A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: "We have been in discussion with Heart of Midlothian Football Club over the sale of land at Tynecastle.

"Our position is that we wish to see the success of both Edinburgh football clubs but any commercial transaction must be on the basis of value for money for the Council and people of Edinburgh.

"We expect a report on the negotiations with Hearts to come before the Council Executive in January."

There had been fears that buying the land at Tynecastle High School and the MacLeod Street Adult Education Centre could prove to be a major stumbling block in Romanov's plans.

However Hearts are proposingto pay out £4.1million for the school and £1.8million for the education centre and are expected to submit a planning application over the next few months.

Meanwhile, Romanov decided not appeal against the £10,000 fine which was imposed on him by the SFA for comments he made about referees. The Lithuanian had until 5pm last night to challenge the punishment but did not make contact with them before the deadline passed. He now has 30 days to stump up or face a four per cent increase in the fine.

Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon was today due at Tynecastlefor showdown talks with club officials at a disciplinary meeting for his part in the Riccarton Three statement.

Steven Pressley was released from his contract for releasing a statement criticising the way the club was being run, while Paul Hartley, who supported his then captain at that press conference, was also summoned for a meeting with Pedro Lopez last week. He remains a Hearts player but was relegated to the bench for Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen.

Dons striker Steve Lovell admitted that Hartley's omission from the starting line-up had been a huge boost for his side.

The Aberdeen frontman scored the only goal of the game with four minutes remaining at Tynecastle to earn Jimmy Calderwood's side all three points and said: "When the manager spoke to us in the dressing-room we still weren't sure if Paul would be playing or not, so when we found out that he was on the bench it was a huge bonus for us. Everyone knows how good a player he is and I think you could see his qualities when he came on, in fact he almost turned the game in Hearts' favour."

"They have been having a few problems lately and you never know who is going to be in their team. That's not our concern but it is surprising that they left him out and it's their misfortune."

Taken from the Scotsman