A petition to save Kingstonian Football Club from being made homeless is only 26 signatures away from being debated by the council.

The 130-year-old football club has shared Kingsmeadow stadium with leaseholders AFC Wimbledon since 2003, but the Dons are on the verge of completing a deal to sell the lease to Premier-League champions Chelsea.

Surrey Comet:

Kingstonian fans celebrate at Kingsmeadow

Petitioners are calling upon Kingston Council to honour a covenant they believe was created to protect the future of Kingstonian in the borough.

The Surrey Comet has thrown its weight behind the push to ensure that Kingstonian remain based in the borough and the petition – currently on 474 – needs 500 signatures before being discussed by the council. 

Sign the petition here

Hopes of success were dealt a major blow this week when council leader Kevin Davis denied the existence of a covenant.

In an official statement he said: “Kingston Council owns the freehold for Kingsmeadow Stadium and that is not for sale.  AFC Wimbledon are the leaseholders and could, if they wanted, decide to effectively sell that leasehold.

“The current lease between the council and AFC Wimbledon allows (but does not require) AFC to sub-let, which they do in the form of a ground-sharing agreement with Kingstonian FC.

“As far as I'm aware there is no covenant in the title to the land or in the lease between Kingston Council and AFC that obliges any party to provide accommodation to Kingstonian FC.

Surrey Comet:

Conservative council leader Kevin Davis

“That said, I for one am committed to doing whatever I can to ensure Kingstonian has a future in the borough. As our borough grows and changes, we must protect our heritage and the things that make this area special. Kingstonian FC certainly falls into that category.

“I have met with representatives of Kingstonian FC to offer the Council’s support in either negotiating a new ground-sharing agreement with new leaseholders, should a transfer of the lease go through, or failing that in trying to identify suitable locations in the borough for a new ground to be built.”

Proud supporter Jamie Cutteridge, who launched the petition, acknowledged that the covenant could no longer exist.

He said: “We were told by people who were involved with the club in the early 2000s that at one point there was some type of covenant.

“We were thinking it may have been lost at some point during the sale of the leasehold in 2003, but at no point during that sale was there any mention of it.

"So now that we’ve been told that there is no real record of it existing it seems as if it has gone without being communicated to us."

Representatives of King-stonian are due to meet with supporters to discuss the club’s future after Kingstonian's game against Billericay at Kingsmeadow this Saturday.

History of Kingsmeadow

1988 – Kingstonian’s Richmond Road ground is sold. Kingstonian ground-share at Hampton's Beveree ground

1989 – K's open the new Kingsmeadow stadium

2001– Kingstonian enter administration.

2002 – The Football Association back an independent decision to allow Wimbledon FC to relocate to Milton Keynes. In protest a group of supporters form AFC Wimbledon.

2002 – Rajesh Khosla buys Kingstonian but alienates fans

2003 – AFC Wimbledon agree to buy the leasehold from Mr Khosla for a reported £2.4m and agree to ground-share with Ks.

2004 - with Mr Khosla still in control of the club, and the sale not finalised, manager Kim Harris calls on him to sell up

2014– The Dons submit a planning application to build a new ground at old home Plough Lane.

2015- Chelsea enter negotiations with AFC Wimbledon to purchase the lease for the use of their women's team. The deal is reported to be completed within the next month.

To sign the petition click HERE