Tottenham stadium: Spurs win legal case and can start building new 56,000 capacity stadium

Final impediment to re-development of White Hart Lane removed

Tottenham Hotspur can start work on their new 56,000 capacity stadium after they were finally granted the right to buy the final piece of land that had been standing in their way.

Archway Sheet Metal Works, a large business directly adjacent to the North Stand at White Hart Lane, had fought a lengthy legal dispute over Haringey Council’s granting of a Compulsory Purchase Order, demanding they move to make way for the new stadium.

But at the High Court in London Mr Justice Dove found in Haringey Council and Tottenham Hotspur’s favour, dismissing Archway Sheet Metal Works case as largely semantic.

The family owned business had objected to moving chiefly on the grounds that Tottenham’s stadium may never be built, citing the fact they had previously intended to move away from the area to the Olympic Stadium in east London, and that the financial viability of the stadium depended on Tottenham qualifying for European football. These arguments were not accepted.

After a two day hearing, Mr Justice Dove, who had previously revealed he was an Aston Villa fan, told the court: “I am satisfied that there is no legal fault in the process.”

The legal contest means Spurs are unlikely to move in to their new stadium until 2018, rather than 2017, and they are still uncertain about where they will play their home matches while the stadium is being built. Wembley, Milton Keynes and the newly vacated Upton Park have all been suggested, but none are without their problems.