GILLINGHAM chairman Paul Scally has been warned by the Football League that permission to relocate the club to Temple Marsh at Strood is no formality.

Mr Scally has had talks with Medway Council officials over redeveloping the Temple Marsh site to include a football stadium, hotel and casino.

Two years ago a feasibility study, jointly financed by the council and the football club, identified the site as the most appropriate for the project. But moving the club out of Gillingham, even to another site in the same conurbation, would require Football League permission.

In defence of his proposals, Mr Scally would argue that Grimsby play nearby in Cleethorpes while Wimbledon have moved to Milton Keynes.

Ian Christon, of the League's communications department, said: "We read Paul Scally's programme notes and are aware of his plans to move Gillingham. Wimbledon was a unique situation because the Football League rejected their request to move to Milton Keynes and the club successfully appealed to the Football Association.

"Nothing is a foregone conclusion and we treat each case on its merits. I'm not personally familiar with the Medway Towns but if Paul Scally says he wants to move the club from Gillingham to Strood then that is a matter for the League's executive to consider."

Many supporters are opposed to relocation which could force a name change from Gillingham to Strood or Rochester.

Mr Scally insists the move offers the club a chance to make genuine progress in a state-of-the-art stadium. In his programme notes for the home game against Norwich on September 16, he wrote: "Ever since I came to the club in 1995, I have always said that the long-term future of the club has to be away from Priestfield Stadium

"The good news is that I believe we have found the funding partners to help out progress with our move and that the scheme we are proposing to put to the Council is attractive, well thought through and sustainable.

"We are not asking the council to do us any favours but we feel it has a duty and responsibility to the people of Medway to adhere to the conclusions of the study."

Mr Scally disclosed that he had been approached by one of the major Las Vegas casino operators interested in becoming involved in the scheme which would see the casino become an integral part of the scheme.

Any casino would face stiff competition from the nearby London Dome which is set to be converted into the country's biggest casino by South African billionaire Sol Kersey, who developed his country's world famous Sun City.