Bury AFC says several proposals it put forward to bring professional men's football back to Gigg Lane have been rejected.

In a statement on the club’s website, it told fans that "a number of issues" need to be resolved ahead of any second vote to merge Bury AFC’s Shaker’s Community Society Ltd with the Bury Football Club Supporters’ Society.

The merger aimed to bring elite men’s football back to the town following Bury FC’s expulsion from the English Football League in 2019.

The two societies announced their original plans to unify last July after the council pledged to provide £450,000 in funding to a unified Bury FC.

In October last year, an initial vote to merge the two groups fell through after failing to meet a two thirds majority.

Since then, discussions between the two societies have taken place to hold a second merger vote with BFCSS saying they want another round of ballots “as soon as possible".

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In its latest blog post, published this week, Bury AFC says several proposals it has put to BFCSS to aid with the return of senior men’s football to Gigg Lane have been rejected.

The club said: “We offered a solution which we believe presented the only realistic way to ensure that senior men’s football (i.e. National League System) was played at Gigg Lane from the start of next season and which we believe would bring Bury FC Supporters’ Society (BFCSS) back into compliance with the conditions incorporated in the Grant Funding Agreement under which the government through the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) provided 50 per cent of the money required to purchase Gigg Lane.

"These proposals were rejected by BFCSS.”

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Bury AFC says BFCSS has also rejected proposals for the club to change its name to Bury Football Club, or to allow it to play at Gigg Lane under the name Bury AFC.

The club also says it suggested BFCSS provide them with a lease to play at Gigg Lane, which it says would service "a number of purposes" including to "satisfy the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement which specifically requires that BFCSS reaches an agreement with Bury AFC over the use of Gigg Lane".

According to Bury AFC, this proposal has been rejected with "no explanation". 

Bury Football Club Supporters' Society has been contacted for comment.

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