A LAST-ditch legal challenge to the winding up of Hereford United could be lodged today for a hearing in the New Year.

The future for what was Hereford United (1939) Ltd remains in the limbo of “they think it’s all over” with no-one yet willing to definitively say “it is now”.

A phone conversation yesterday (Mon) between Herefordshire Council leader Cllr Tony Johnson and businessman Jon Hale, who is fronting a phoenix club bid, outlined grounds by which talks over a future “Hereford FC” at Edgar Street could start early next year.

The council considers this bid credible and it brings Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) on board .

Two other as yet unconfirmed interested parties have also contacted the council. Their identities may be confirmed over coming days if their interest is substantiated.

But former owner of the club Andrew Lonsdale is said to be meeting with lawyers today (Tues) over any appeal of last Friday’s winding up order and the subsequent taking possession of the Edgar Street ground by the council as landlord.

Mr Lonsdale would have seven working days to lodge an appeal having said that he will set foot inside Edgar Street again.

He missed Friday's winding up hearing saying he was "stuck in traffic" with a bank statement proving he had £1 million to meet a court imposed creditor payment deadline.

United's barrister told the presiding registrar that he had "not personally" seen any evidence that a bank transfer had taken place.

With no confirmation of where Mr Lonsdale was, the registrar made the winding up order after nine adjournments in six months.

But even if an appeal against the winding up order was to succeed, Mr Lonsdale would still have to challenge the council for the return of leases on the ground.

Yesterday (Mon), the council terminated development agreements related to the leases that cover the Blackfriars and Merton Meadow stands and confirmed that termination in writing to the directors of the former Hereford United Football Club (1939) Ltd.

The leases are separate to the development agreements which are specific to the club and not assignable.

An administrator could seek to dispose of the leases to pay creditors, but with the development agreements they are little more than a liability.

Clauses in the agreements allow a developer  to keep 10 per cent of any pre-let profit from building on the site and 15 per cent of any speculative build with remaining monies  being used to “benefit” the club.

The cost of development has to be agreed between the developer and the council and, if agreement can’t be reached, the district valuer decides.

Mr Hale told the Hereford Times that it was “too early” to detail a phoenix club business plan stressing the need to “respect the council’s position” with regard to due process.

“It was pleasing to get another chance to reiterate quite how serious we are about our business plan and explain that we feel our group, all lifelong Hereford United supporters, working alongside the Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST), will be able to provide football fans in the city - and the wider community - with the type of club they deserve," said Mr Hale.

“As soon as the time is right we will share the content of our business plan with a wider audience, but while the legal situation with the leases is still ongoing we feel it is a little too early to release more detail,” he said.

What is known about the phoenix plan so far puts responsibility for development both ends of the ground in the hands of the council.

But any phoenix club needs to be entered into a league by the end of March.

With that in mind the phoenix consortium has contacted Herefordshire Football Association and submitted affiliation forms in the name of Hereford Football Club – a choice shared with the chairman and vice-chairman of HUST.

The website domain name and social media accounts to match it have also been secured.

 In a separate development, a full public inquiry into the council's dealings with Hereford United over recent years has been confirmed.

Cllr Sebastian Bowen, chairman of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee said the inquiry's initial terms of reference would take in those circumstances within the council’s control such as the re-assigning of leases on the ground.

“It is my hope that an inquiry of this nature can clarify the council’s actions as the club headed toward its demise,” said Cllr Bowen.

The committee had been waiting on the winding up order before confirming the inquiry which will be held next month.

Though landlord of the Edgar Street ground, the council does not have any direct control or involvement in the club and its decisions.

At the centre of the scrutiny inquiry are to leases referring to redevelopment of the Meadow End and Blackfriars End, stipulating that any proceeds be re-invested in the ground and its facilities.

Earlier this year the council received a request from the club's then new owners for a transfer of those leases to a holding company within their ownership. 

The folding of the club sees the leases revert back to the council.

Assigning the Edgar Street leases – one for 75 years on the ground and terracing to the west, the other for 33 years for the stand and parking area to the east and both dating from 1982 - was one of the last big deals done by the former Hereford City Council.

During the late 1990s, with United facing severe financial problems, the leases were reassigned to property developers in return for a £1m capital injection into the club.  

The money was made available through two companies, the BS (Bristol Stadium) Group and Chelverton.

BS and Chelverton took equal ownership of a special purpose company called Formsole Ltd which made the investment and held the leases – as the tenant under both – with the club holding sub-leases.  

By August 2001, BS had sold its “loan” to Chelverton which ran into trouble little over a year later when control of the leases passed to Carillion Richardson.

United still owed £1m plus interest to Formsole which stayed solvent when Chelverton went into liquidation.  

The reassignment of the leases was supported by Herefordshire Council when it took control of the former city council’s affairs.

Getting the leases back was pitched as a political priority when the news broke in April 2010 that then United chairman Graham Turner and vice chairman Joan Fennessy were ready to sell their majority shareholding in the club.

The club began negotiations with Carillion Richardson for the return of the leases almost as soon as the Keyte-Russon takeover was completed in June that year.

That deal was done by December with the club paying £452,000 to secure the return of the leases and settle a £1,069,500 debt to Richardsons Developments, clearing the way for a new single lease and the development opportunities that could bring.

The deal was intended to offer the club security for the next 30 years and ensure future re-entry to the Football League - which requires a 25-year secured tenancy.

It also opened up opportunities for grant funding for any future development - £400,000 in the Conference and £750,000 in the Football League.

The council was ready to allow an extension to the new stadium lease of 250 years once development at either end was underway, with proceeds from the sale of development areas held in a joint escrow account.

That money was intended for the construction of two new stands - one at each end of the ground - and modernisation work on the existing stadium.