Chelmsford Borough Council leaders responded to a call to a dramatic 'Save Chelmsford City' plea by agreeing to a meeting with its chairman.

Club chairman Peter Stroud, exasperated and frustrated with the slow progress of plans to bring the club back to Chelmsford, demanded the promise of instant action on Tuesday.

The response - after Mr Stroud also withdrew his application for the siting of his club at Beaulieu Park - was swift.

He was set to meet council leader Mike McCrory, deputy Trevor Miller, Chief Executive Martin Easteal, and planning chief Clive Hollyman on Friday.

But this immediately infuriated Tory Delmas Ashford who nearly two weeks ago had his call for a Liberal Labour Tory tripartite meeting with the club rejected by Cllr McCrory.

Cllr Ashford already had a motion down for January's Council meeting, calling on the borough to identify suitable locations for the club to move to other than Beaulieu.

Mr Stroud decided to "pull" the application on Tuesday because he said he was told he would never get planning permission for it.

"Now the life and death of the City club is in the hands of the council," he told the Chronicle on Wednesday.

Mr Stroud said: ''I hope they can come up with a suitable site. I am obviously pleased at the quick response and am prepared to give reasonable time.

''But if nothing happens I shall have to go and think very carefully about the future of the club.

"I am not certain that the alternative investment of £3 million in a move to Basildon will work.

''That does not leave me with very many options. The future of Chelmsford City now rests with the council."

A council spokesman said: ''Mr Stroud has been in touch with us to say that he intends withdrawing his application for the new football stadium and other facilities at Boreham.

"However, we have not had formal notice of this.

"The Borough Council would be very happy to continue discussions, either with Mr Stroud or the Club. We are still firmly committed to seeing Chelmsford City remain in Chelmsford.

"We believe that there may be other alternative sites and we are happy to discuss them - but that does not prejudge any planning application.

"Mr Stroud has known all along that the Boreham site is not included for development in the present Borough Plan.

''He has been told that the Highways Agency and Essex County Council need detailed information on the traffic likely to be generated by the new development before commenting on the Planning Application.

"Contrary to the views of some supporters, the Council has not been delaying a decision on the application, but has been awaiting all the information required from the applicant.

"All planning applications must be dealt with in the same way, whatever they are for.''

By Peter Baker

Reporter's e-mail: peter.baker@essex-chronicle.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.