
Darlington FC 'still committed' to stadium move despite setbacks
The new stadium was initially planned to be built in time for the 2024-25 season, but the project has been repeatedly delayed."This is an incredibly complex process involving many stakeholders and is therefore extremely time-consuming and unfortunately very slow-moving," Mr Johnston said.
Securing Darlington FC's future
Board members remained committed to finding a "long-term, permanent home to secure the future of our club", Mr Johnson said.They are in talks with stakeholders about several possible locations, including the football club's former home, Darlington Arena.Darlington Mowden Park RFC, which currently plays at the arena, recently outlined its ambition to partner with other sports clubs to develop the site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service."We have been discussing several options for the arena site, as well as other locations, but what we as a board are very clear on is that we cannot envisage a move back to the Darlington Arena in its current form," Mr Johnston said."The aim is to deliver a sustainable sports facility for the town, that hopefully will meet the needs of as many stakeholders as possible, but we will not enter any proposal that could jeopardise the long-term future of the football club."
Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Dragons' Den icon Theo Paphitis warns 'high streets will not survive if shops are hit in next Budget'
Dragons' Den icon Theo Paphitis has warned of mass closures if shops are hit even harder at the next Budget. The businessman, who owns the stationary chain Ryman, issued a stark warning that the UK high street may not survive further tax hikes. Companies are already being hit with hefty business rates - with speculation growing Chancellor Rachel Reeves may pile on the pain in the autumn. Mr Paphitis highlighted the immense burden smaller businesses are carrying compared to online giants who are paying 'next to nothing'. Firms have also been battered by hikes in National Insurance contributions and an inflation-busting increase in the minimum wage which came into effect in April. Writing in The Sun, Mr Paphitis said: 'After everything the high street has been through, asking it to carry even more weight would be the final straw for many. 'The government must ensure that no shop pays more in the upcoming Autumn Budget.' He added: 'Once a shop shuts, it is far harder and costlier to bring it back, meaning each closure represents a long-term wound to the health of the high street.' Mr Paphitis has previously criticised the business rates system, which he says the government has failed to properly reform. He argued that it unfairly hits bricks and mortar businesses, while online and technology giants only face the tax on their warehouses. Mr Paphitis's comments come as store closures this year are predicted to top 17,000 this year. It is the highest figure since the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), which compiled the report, began collecting the data in 2015 and follows the closure of 13,479 stores last year. The vast majority of closed shops in 2024 – 11,341 – were independent retailers, a 45.5 per cent jump against the previous year. Business leaders have called for the Chancellor to 'urgently' change course with her tax-raising policies to prevent British high streets from becoming ghost towns. The CRR's forecast of 17,350 store closures would make 2025 worse than 2022, when the withdrawal of government support measures following the pandemic caused 17,151 shops to close. Around 16,145 stores shut their doors at the height of lockdown in 2020. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR previously said: 'Whilst the results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse to come in 2025.' Of the predicted 2025 figure, the vast majority of store closures, 14,660, are expected to be independent retailers. These firms usually operate on very tight profit margins and may not have enough cash to cover the cost of the Treasury's tax raid and minimum wage hikes. 'This is a tragic scenario that we warned the government could come to pass if they did not change course,' said Andrew Goodacre, head of the British Independent Retailers Association. He added: 'Overall costs for independent retailers are going up and the planned increases in National Insurance, minimum wage and business rates will leave many with no choice but to shut up shop.' Ms Reeves declared in October that employers would pay a 15 per cent National Insurance rate on staff salaries exceeding £5,000 from April rather than the current 13.8 per cent levy on wages above £9,100. She also said the National Living Wage would go up by 77p to £12.21 per hour, alongside increases in the capital gains tax rates on selling business assets. Retailers have been among those leading the charge against the Chancellor's punishing tax measures. In November, more than 80 bosses signed an open letter to Reeves warning that her Budget plans would force them to hike prices, cut jobs and close stores. Signatories included the heads of high street giants Marks & Spencer, Next and John Lewis as well as the major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda. Meanwhile, firms have called for ministers to reform the business rates system to make physical shops more competitive with their online counterparts.


Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
We paid HMRC thousands to boost our state pensions - months later, we've got no idea where the cash has gone
Pensioners who spent thousands of pounds to boost their state pensions have received nothing for their money since it vanished into government coffers months ago. Hundreds of thousands of older people rushed to take advantage of a special deal – before it ran out in April – that would increase their retirement income. The offer allowed people to fill gaps in state pension records going back to 2006, rather than just the past six years.


Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
Chargers WR Ladd McConkey (undisclosed) returns to practice
August 13 - Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey was back at practice and participating in 11-on-11 drills Tuesday after missing time with an undisclosed injury, according to The Athletic. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh had previously said that McConkey was "working through something minor" while not disclosing which body part he had injured. McConkey had been limited or absent the last two weeks of practice before returning on Tuesday, per media reports. McConkey also refused to disclose what injury he had been dealing with, simply saying, "I'm good." "I feel really good. It felt great to get back out there a little bit, catching passes," McConkey said. " ... I feel like I'm (100 percent) now. It's just building everything back up, getting in the swing of things, getting my conditioning back where it needs to be." McConkey is looking to build on a breakout rookie season in 2024 during which he led the team and set Chargers regular-season rookie records with 82 receptions and 1,149 receiving yards, breaking records previously set by Keenan Allen in 2013, to go along with his seven touchdown catches. In his playoff debut, McConkey set an NFL rookie postseason record with 197 receiving yards in the Chargers' 32-12 loss at Houston. He scored the team's lone touchdown of the game on an 86-yard catch-and-run scramble into the end zone. -Field Level Media