Council leader aims to keep football club in Prescot

Knowsley Council wants to ensure Prescot Cables' future but does not have the money to pay for a new stand at the ground the local authority has owned since 2018, its leader has told the BBC.

While the historic non-league side may not be the most famous football club on Merseyside, Cables can claim to be older than neighbouring Liverpool FC.

However, its fans are worried the club may have to relocate from its Valerie Park home because the main stand is "nearing the end of its life".

Council leader Graham Morgan said the estimated cost for a new stand would be about £2m, money which he said the local authority did not have.

Knowsley Council stepped in to secure Cables' future in 2018 when it bought Valerie Park for £300,000 from private owners and granted the club a 99-year lease.

Cables fan Mike Kostrzewski called BBC Radio Merseyside's Hot Seat phone-in to raise his concerns directly with Morgan.

He said supporters were finding the uncertainty around the club's future "unsettling" and added: "I know it's not Everton or Liverpool, but it's important to the local community."

Morgan said the council would work "closely" with the club's board.

He said the local authority had previously provided a £63,000 loan which had enabled the club to secure funding for £200,000 in ground improvements.

Morgan said a recent assessment had concluded that it could cost about £2m to replace the main stand and that "unfortunately at the moment the council hasn't got that kind of money".

Kostrzewski said it would be great if other facilities could be built around the stadium to help keep the club there.

He said: "I think we'd lose a little bit of the soul of the club if we moved."

Morgan said "Prescot Cables fans are the lifeblood of the Prescot town centre regeneration, and I want to see Cables stay at Valerie Park, not just for the short term but for generations to come."

The club's name comes from the largest local employer in Prescot, British Insulated Cables, which was founded in 1890 as the British Insulated Wire Company.

The football club, which has also been called Prescot Town, was formed six years earlier.

The fan-owned club's board previously said it was "exploring all options" and was in discussions with the council and its landlord about moving to a new home.

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