HEREFORDSHIRE Council has joined the winding up order against Hereford United saying it seeks “full recovery” of all monies owed to it by the club.

But the council remains willing to enter talks on deferring payment if it can assume full responsibility for redeveloping the club’s Edgar Street ground and its respective ends.

In a statement the council said it now had to balance its wish to see football maintained at Edgar Street with its responsibility to recover monies owed.

Hereford United Football Club (1939) Limited was informed of the council’s decision today (Monday).

Until now, the council has not been listed among the club’s creditors.

The council confirmed that it was still willing to discuss deferring payment with the club – over a set period of time - if the council assumes responsibility for redevelopment of the ground and ends.

If this is agreed, the club will allowed to “focus on football”.

The council has been taking legal advice on its stance towards United since the Hereford Times revealed that the council was not previously a party to the winding up order because the £65,000 owed in rent arrears, business rates and legal fees didn’t affect the authority’s “financial viability”.

United is due back at the High Court on October 20.

The council is landlord to the  Edgar Street ground but was not previously been put to the court as a creditor of Hereford United Football Club (1939) Ltd.

However, the council was listed as a creditor during the attempt by the club to set up a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

But the council took no part in the CVA as it considered that other creditors were likely to be more affected by the outcome.

Defending its previous stance in a statement, the council said the £65,000 would not affect its own financial viability as opposed to smaller creditors, where the amount owed could be the difference between remaining in business or not.

As such, the council has not joined in the current legal proceedings by other creditors seeking the winding up of the club. 

If those proceedings were  successful, the council could expect to recover the same percentage of the debt owed as the other unsecured creditors.

A recent memo sent to councillors said that following the rejection of the Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), the council’s position over the club had not changed.

That position had the council not making any move over the leases on Hereford United’s Edgar Street ground until the outcome of Monday's hearing was known.

The council is already under pressure from members to hold an “official investigation” into the authority’s part in the crisis at Hereford United.

There have even been calls for an outside agency to investigate any culpability the council may have.

The council has already admitted that no “separate” due diligence report was done on the financial state of Hereford United ahead of the ground leases being re-assigned.

Instead, members have been told that an “appropriate level” of due diligence was carried out given that the club was a current tenant.

Meetings and telephone conferences between council representatives and representatives of Hereford United have gone on since January without minutes being taken.