Millwall exploring new sites away from Bermondsey amid fears they will be forced out of The Den

Millwall are reconsidering leaving Bermondsey because they fear Lewisham council still wants to sell land around The Den to property developers.

It comes after the publication of a report that cleared the council of wrongdoing surrounding its controversial proposal for a compulsory purchase order.

Millwall fear the authority is intent on revisiting the CPO and selling the site to offshore developer Renewal, which the club say could lead to them leaving the borough.

Chief executive Steve Kavanagh has previously said Millwall could move to Kent and chairman John Berylson admits the club are looking at potential new homes.

Berylson said: “While I should emphasise this is emphatically not our preferred option, we are obliged to give this our full consideration and have taken steps to investigate alternative sites with relevant third parties.

“It will be extremely difficult to see a long-term future in a borough where our local authority is unhelpful and hostile to us.”

The council abandoned the CPO in February but Berylson said: “There are clear indications Lewisham council intends to bring back the compulsory purchase orders and pick up from where it left off almost a year ago.”

In response, the council said today: “We are proud Millwall have called Lewisham home since 1910 and want them to stay here for generations to come.”

Millwall have also criticised the inquiry into the CPO that was commissioned by the council and led by retired judge Lord Dyson.

Dyson based some of his findings on a Freedom of Information Tribunal about the arrangements Lewisham council entered into with Renewal, which Berylson claims contains errors. Millwall have appealed against some of the decisions in that tribunal.