Sovereign Network Group (SNG), a not-for-profit affordable housing provider, confirmed that it completed the purchase of 71 per cent of the Camrose site from Basron, and is now in discussions to buy the remaining 29 per cent of the land, which is still owned by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC).
The Camrose site, once home to Basingstoke Town Football Club, has been vacant for several years.
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In 2019, the football club was kicked out from the grounds by Basron as Mr Razzak sought planning permission to build houses and a care home there.
Although BDBC initially refused his plans, a government inspector approved an appeal in 2022 to develop the site, granting permission for 85 dwellings and a 70-bedroom care home.
In October 2023, Basron informed BDBC of its intention to sell its share of the site along with the planning permission.
Community interest groups were then given six weeks to express interest as potential buyers, but none came forward, allowing Basron to proceed with the sale.
It is understood that the land was finally sold to SNG in December 2024.
In a council meeting in March 2024, BDBC’s co-Leader and Cabinet member for property and finance, Cllr Gavin James, clarified the council’s stance on its land ownership.
“Clearly on its own, it will not facilitate a football club,” he said then.
“So, I’m very much in hands as to what happens with the Basron bit. I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep, because I can’t promise what Basron are going to do with their part of the land. All I can confirm is we are continuing to support the football club.”
Cllr James has now confirmed that SNG had let the council know “some while ago” that it was interested in buying Basron’s land.
Cllr James said: “We own 29 per cent of the land at Camrose. This was not included in the site that has planning permission.
“We have never put this land up for sale or marketed it. I made it clear at the March council meeting that we were waiting to see what happened to the rest of the land.
“SNG had let us know that they were interested in buying the land not in our ownership for an affordable housing scheme some while ago. They have been keeping us informed of the progress of their negotiations with the owner.
“However, it was not until late last year that it became clear that their bid to buy the land was likely to be successful and so we started to explore the possibility of adding our land to increase the affordable housing on the site.
“In the lead-up to Christmas, we were informed by SNG that they had bought the majority of the site. We are reviewing the proposal from them about our land and will make a decision on this at a future Cabinet meeting, likely to be in February.”
New affordable houses are now being planned on the ground, which had been Basingstoke Town Football Club’s home for more than 70 years.
The ground was gifted to the football club by Viscount Camrose on a lease to 2053 with a covenant restricting use to ‘football or a sports ground’.
However, this covenant was ignored while granting planning permission to Basron.
Confirming the purchase, SNG’s chief investment and development officer, Tom Titherington said: “There are around 5,300 households that need a new home waiting on the Basingstoke and Deane housing register. We are committed to doing what we can to provide more affordable homes to meet the urgent need in Basingstoke.
“SNG recently purchased the Camrose site, which has been vacant for some time, and that offers an opportunity to build new affordable housing. SNG is a not-for-profit affordable housing provider, so we want to provide as many affordable homes on the site as we can. To do this, we have approached Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to look at the potential for acquiring the adjacent council-owned land.”