Lancashire win vital court battle

Lancashire have won their Court of Appeal battle over the redevelopment of Old Trafford and can finally press ahead with the rebuilding work to secure their Test match future after what had been termed a 'day of destiny'.

The county have been involved in long-running legal battles with Derwent Holdings, a rival development company, over their plans for Old Trafford which involve working with the Tesco supermarket chain to build a superstore close to the ground.

Derwent, who owned the White City retail park near Old Trafford, felt they had a suitable claim to build their own superstore but the case was repeatedly thrown out by various courts until it was taken to the Court of Appeal. The three judges hearing the case took evidence from both sides on Monday before quickly deciding in Lancashire's favour, and Derwent haven't been granted leave to appeal again.

"This is one of the biggest days in the club's history," Lancashire chief Jim Cumbes said. "If we don't redevelop then 150-odd years of history would have been in danger of disappearing.

"With redevelopment, I am confident that Old Trafford can continue as an international cricket ground. Today's decision means that the work can start and we can get the spades out."

The delays caused by the ongoing court cases meant that crucial funding couldn't be released to pay for the development. However, the club had already started on significant building work in recent months because they couldn't afford to wait any longer to hit deadlines set by the ECB if they were to be able to bid for a 2013 Ashes Test.

Tesco are backing Lancashire's plans and building a store in nearby White City while contributing £21million to the cost. Their joint planning application was approved in March last year, and at the same planning meeting Derwent had a scheme to build a Sainsbury's at the site refused. Derwent argued that Trafford Council applied double standards in refusing its plans.

The first part of the redevelopment was completed last year with the opening of The Point, a large red complex to the side of the pavilion, and continued over the winter with the turning of the square 90 degrees to prevent problems caused by the setting sun in autumn while new floodlights have also been installed.