West Sussex football club’s hope of finding permanent new home for juniors scuppered
Southwater Football Club’s hope of finding a permanent new home to train its juniors have been scuppered by Horsham District Council.
For 40 years, the youngsters have played and trained at Phillips Field, off of Southwater Street, but the club has not be able to renew the lease.
Instead, it signed a 50-year lease to use land at Lawsons Farm to the south of Two Mile Ash Road. But, during a meeting of the planning committee on September 16, plans to change the use of the land from an agricultural field to a football field were refused.
Had it been allowed, the site would have hosted five pitches, 55 parking spaces, compostable toilets, and a new entrance onto Marlpost Road.
While councillors shared their support for the club and offered their sympathy for its predicament, the location proved to be too much of a problem.
The grounds for refusal described the site as ‘unsustainable’ – there are no pavements and the children would likely have to be driven to their matches and training sessions. On top of that, it was felt the development would have a detrimental impact on the character of the area.
James Sambrook, chairman of the football club, said the search for an affordable new home had been going on for five years. Temporary pitches have been secured for the teams this season – but demand is high and their availability cannot be assured.
Mr Sambrook said: “Football is a powerful tool for children’s overall development, promoting physical fitness, mental strength, social engagement and valuable life skills within an inclusive environment.”
The council received 178 letters of support, citing the health and community benefits of the new pitch, and 58 letters of objection, with concerns including the loss of an agricultural field, noise and road safety.
The committee supported the recommendation of officers that the application be refused.
Collette Blackburn (Lib Dem, Southwater South & Shipley) said the need for more football facilities in the area was ‘completely indisputable’ but that the proposed site was ‘not the right solution’.
Claire Vickers (Con, Southwater North) said she had ‘huge sympathy’ for the football club but added: “This site is clearly not suitable and the benefits do not outweigh the harm.”
To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/25/0638.