Community bid to revamp football stand

And sprucing up the huge eyesore, which overlooks Newhaven FC's Fort Road ground, may be the club's only hope of rising through the leagues.

But committee members say they have been banging their heads against a brick wall in their dealings with Lewes District Council.

Manager Jason Tighe said: 'The council is making it hard for us and stopping us build what we need to get promoted. We do not want to move anywhere, we want to get the big stand up and running. This has been going on for six years now and nothing has been sorted.'

Directors from a now dissolved company, Europa Ltd, who were all on the club committee, started building the stand in 1992. Promises of funding to finish it never came to fruition and so it was abandoned.

The district council owns the land and the half finished structure became its responsibility. It was shut for health and safety reasons.

Last year, the district council along with the Newhaven Community Development Association (NCDA) came up with the suggestion of moving the club '“ known as the Dockers '“ across the river to Eastside.

The plan then called for a sports park complex to be developed at Fort Road. But this brought down the ire of Eastside residents and a successful 565-signature petition against the move was presented to the council. In addition, the football club was never keen to relocate.

The Dockers, who play in County League Division 3, want to gain promotion and take part in national cup competitions. But to do so they must fulfil certain criteria. These include a covered area for spectators, a barrier around all four sides of the playing area, a hardstanding of at least one metre in width outside the barrier alongside the touchline, a safe walkway for players and match officials from changing rooms to the pitch while the match is in progress and dugouts to seat eight people.

There also has to be a lease of at least 15 years of the site to obtain any funding for the building from the Football Foundation.

Committee member Dave Smythe said: 'This is something a lot of us feel passionate about. We have had enough because we are getting nowhere.

The district council has to legally make sure no one gets injured which is why they closed the stand but we have said we will make all the necessary improvements ourselves.'

A council spokesman said: 'We had a very ambitious project for the complete refurbishment of the Fort Road recreation ground but it was not possible to secure the money from external funding. We decided to re-evaluate the whole situation and all the potential funding.

'We have not had any specific funding proposals from the football club. Discussions are continuing and we are looking at all the options '“ not just for the football club but the other users in the recreation ground. We won't take any decisions until there has been a further round of public consultation.

'The opportunity to redevelop the Fort Road recreation ground is one that the district council is still keen on.'

Dockers' committee member John Carpenter said: 'To show our concern for the proper development of the area we contacted the council soon after the Eastside debacle. We have not been approached since about the development of the area. No financial ideas will be submitted to the council until a lease is secured.'

The club is one of the oldest in Sussex and was formed in 1899 by the Towner family who were brewers in the town. Matches have been played at Fort Road since 1926.