The New Saints £80,000 row: Club's owner demands apology from Shropshire Council

Mike Harris, the owner of The New Saints Football Club, based at Park Hall in Oswestry, said that £80,000 the club received from the Market Town Revitalisation Programme (MTRP) was a grant and not loan.

Mr Harris said that a grant is not repayable if the terms of the agreement are met.

The club owner made the comments on Twitter after Shropshire Council issued a statement about the £80,000 legacy grant in which is said that the money was not recovered 'due to officers leaving the council'.

Yesterday the council also said it is now seeking to recover money from The New Saints "in accordance with the terms of the grant agreement".

An audit report concluded that the council's handling of the legacy grant, from the Market Town Revitalisation Programme, was not satisfactory.

The club was granted £80,000 to install new seats to allow it to compete in European matches.

The council has said that money equal to the amount of the grant received by The New Saints should have been paid out as grants within the Oswestry area, the criteria for which was to be approved by the Oswestry Economic Board

The authority said the club handed over £10,000 to the revitalisation programme before the body was disbanded.

Mr Harris has hit back and said that the reputational damage will have a negative impact on business in the area.

He said: "I think TNS FC should be receiving an apology. By definition a grant is a grant and not repayable if its terms are meet. This was not a loan.

"The investigation panel never gained all the facts, never came to our offices for copies of the council staff's emails.

"The damage to Oswestry in terms of attracting investment and jobs will be uncountable. Companies will think twice before creating any more business in the area.

"With the damage they have done to our reputation an apology is the least they can do."