Pitchero Non League

...doesn’t go in their favour today.

Durham County Council want to move the club out of Belle Vue to a purpose-built venue elsewhere in the town, and build an academy on the football club site.

But there have been objections to the proposal, and there will be a judicial review into the original decision to give permission for the project in Leeds on Monday.

Secretary David Pyke said: “If the scheme is rejected by the judicial review, then it puts a huge question mark over the future of our football club. We doubt whether we'll be able to continue at the level we're currently at, if at all.

“If we have to stay where we are, we would have to spend a huge amount of money on the ground, and I don't know whether we would be able to afford it because we doubt very much whether we would be eligible for funding. Our ground is around 60 years old, and is dropping to bits. We have one job after another to do, we seem to be firefighting all the time. It’s one thing after another.

"Only last week, all the snow that had fallen over the previous two days, melted and came through into the bar, and we had a big mopping-up operation."

Should the scheme be given the final go-ahead, then Consett's new set up will be one of the best in the league.

“The plan is that once the scheme is given the go-ahead, the council immediately begins work on our new ground, which is a thirty week build, and we hope to be installed in October. The council want us to leave Belle Vue in September so we'll ask the league to give us away games for that period..

"The new ground incorporates a 3G pitch, which means that our junior and ladies' sections and the community will be able to use it seven days a week. It will be the first 3G pitch in Consett, and will be an improvement on the sports facilities we currently have in the town."

Tags: News | Consett

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