MR GEORGE Rey-nolds has once more signalled his intention to play fast and loose with regulations governing the operation of Darlington Football Club's new stadium.
His decision to hold a car boot sale in the car park of the ground is symptomatic of his approach since he was awarded planning permission for the project.
The legal agreement the club signed as part and parcel of the planning consent is clearly not worth the paper it is written on. So many undertakings have not been honoured and the holding of events not to do with football is expressly forbidden in that agreement. Legally, Mr Reynolds does not have a leg to stand on but he doesn't seem to care, describing that planning agreement this week as "a sham".
He may be right that the club needs the money but using the new stadium as the venue for any cash-generating enterprise he can dream up is not the answer to the club's financial needs. A winning team is the prerequisite for people through the turnstiles.
Earlier this year it was suggested here that Mr Reynolds had to prove he was a reasonable and honourable man. He has not done so and the responsibility falls on Darlington Borough Council to take whatever powers it has - including court action - to force Mr Reynolds to comply with the undertakings he has given and now seems determined to throw in the council's, and the town's, face.
The club chairman is playing a dangerous game. He may believe he will have public support if he takes the council on in the courts and the local authority will buckle in the face of criticism from club fans.
In view of his behaviour in recent months, that seems increasingly unlikely. Fans of the club and the poeple of the town generally are losing patience. This may not be, and should not be, a confrontation that Mr Reynolds will win.
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