Mayor could force sale of land needed for Man Utd stadium plan

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said he would be prepared to force the sale of land needed for a major redevelopment of the Old Trafford stadium.

Burnham, who has been supportive of Manchester United’s plans to demolish its 74,310-capacity stadium in favour of a £2bn 100,000-seat replacement.

But United would need to buy nearby land which its owners, Freightliner, have valued at £400m – 10 times the club’s valuation for it.

Burnham said discussions were in their early stages, but that his office would be able to use compulsory purchase powers “if needed”.

“The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved the establishment of a mayoral development corporation (MDC) to oversee a masterplan of the area to facilitate some of the land assembly,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.

“But there’s plenty that can be done if an agreement cannot be reached.

“The real action is only going to get going in the autumn with the MDC,” he added.

Manchester United has said the entire project has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs, will involve the construction of 17,000 homes, and bring an additional 1.8 million visitors to the area annually.

It add that the project will be worth an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy.

Freightliner has said it is open to moving operations out to ILP North, a new depot planned for the border of Warrington, St Helens, and Wigan 17 miles away.