Spurs get London Mayor backing for new ground

Tottenham Hotspur moved a step closer to building a new stadium on the site of their existing White Hart Lane ground after their plans received approval from the Mayor of London on Thursday.

Boris Johnson could have overturned last month’s decision by the local Haringey Council in north London to give Spurs permission to go ahead in building a new 56,000 seater venue.

But the mayor endorsed the council’s verdict, meaning only an intervention by the British Government could halt the 450 million pounds project.

“I am content to allow Haringey Council to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take, and do not therefore wish to direct refusal or to take over the application for my own determination,” Johnson wrote.

However, Tottenham are also one of two contenders, along with rival capital-based Premier League side West Ham, vying to take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games in the east London district of Stratford.

The prospect of moving to east London from Spurs’s north London home of over a century has angered many of the club’s fans and led to a protest group called ‘We are N17 (the postal address for White Hart Lane) which is determined to keep Tottenham in its present location.