By Phil Coleman

Last updated 09:44, Saturday, 05 July 2008

Former Carlisle United owner John Courtenay today threatened legal action over the club’s sale as it emerged that his long-running claim over its floodplain land remains unresolved.

John Courtenay

The Dublin-based businessman had high hopes of buying United himself.

After weeks of secret negotiations, he lost out as four United directors – David Allen, John Nixon, Andrew Jenkins, and Steven Pattison – sealed a deal to buy the club from Fred Story.

During his four-year reign, the construction tycoon publicly sanctioned the transfer of the 106 acres of floodplain land to Courtenay.

He said the land transfer was part of the original deal when he bought the Brunton Park club in 2004.

That view won overwhelming approval from United’s board in May 2007, but the fans body The United Trust launched a legal action to block the transfer.

They argued that the land– thought to be worth £250,000 – could potentially be a valuable future asset for United, though planners have said it has no commercial value because the land plays a vital role in the city’s flood defences.

In a bizarre twist, it emerged that the floodplain row has now returned to haunt United, with Courtenay revealing that the land is not yet his.

Mr Courtenay said: “I have been with my legal team and we have gone through it and we will certainly be opposing this sale.

“Whether that needs an injunction [court order], I don’t yet know but there’s unfinished business in relation to the floodplain land.”

Mr Story said he’d moved heaven and earth in his attempts to have the flood plain land adjacent to the Brunton Park ground transferred to Mr Courtenay.

He said he never opposed the land’s transfer, adding: “But the trust launched a legal attack to stop us transferring the land, and if he has an issue so far as the transfer of the land to him then he needs to speak to the trust.”

During Mr Story’s time at United, the legal fees incurred by both sides in the dispute over the land spiralled to tens of thousands of pounds, though the full cost has never been made known.

Earlier this week, Mr Story gave his full backing to the new owners. He said: “People have got to realise that running a football club is a tough job – I know that better than anybody.”

The new owners have not yet commented on the dispute over the flood plain.

The United Trust’s spokesman Norman Steel said: “That land has belonged to the club for a long time and this trust has been consistent in trying to protect that asset of the company. It’s as simple as that.”

Mr Steel said a order issued by the High Court judge Peter Smith in May stipulated that if the land was ever to be sold then there had to be a proper marketing exercise and all the proceeds were to be ploughed back into the club. He added that a professional valuation commissioned by the Trust put its value considerably higher than £250,000. Mr Steel pointed out the trust never opposed Mr Story’s ownership of the club.