Longhoughton football pitch plans opposed
May 28 2008 by Brian Daniel, The Journal
PLANS to build football pitches in a Northumberland village are facing opposition from neighbours who fear they will be plagued by noise.
Longhoughton Village Development Trust is seeking planning permission for two grass pitches and one floodlit synthetic turf pitch, behind Johnson House in Park Road.
The development, which would provide facilities for Longhoughton Rangers junior football club, would also include a single storey block which would double up as changing rooms and a community venue.
The project would cost almost £1m and has received support in the village, which suffers from a lack of community facilities, particularly for youngsters, and has only one football pitch.
Ten letters of support have been sent to planning authority Alnwick District Council.
But nine letters of objection have been submitted from eight people whose homes back on to the site.
The neighbours are concerned about noise from the pitches shattering their peace, behaviour of players, use of the site late at night, light pollution from floodlights, effect on house prices and fears that balls will end up in gardens, possibly damaging property.
There have also been claims that youths will congregate there and cause trouble, and that Longhoughton does not need three more football pitches.
One objector, who did not want to be identified, said: “I was not objecting to the football pitches as such, but why on Earth do we need three? There will be a noise, but there will be less noise if there is only one pitch. The floodlighting too is perhaps a bit much for a little village.
“We have only just over a thousand people here.”
Rod Munday, chairman of the trust and treasurer of the football club, said the objections were based on “lack of knowledge”. Mr Munday, who has met villagers to address their concerns, said having more than one pitch would allow more than two teams to play at once. He said the floodlights would create less pollution than streetlights.
“If you mention the word floodlights, they instantly see St James’s Park being built in their back yard.”
Mr Munday, of the village’s Portal Place, said most teams using the pitches would be children and the synthetic pitch would not be used after 9pm.
“It will give them a safe area where they are not wandering the streets with nothing to do.
“Within Longhoughton, outside playing football with us, there is not a lot to do.” The trust hopes to get most of the funding from the Football Foundation, subject to planning permission, with further money coming from the district council and local parish councils.
Longhoughton Rangers has 180 children on its books and has teams in the Glendale League and two in a boys’ club league, which would increase to five.
The pitches could also be used by teams from across the county as there are no synthetic turf pitches between Ashington and Berwick.
Meetings have been held with community groups over use of the facilities.
Within Longhoughton, outside playing football with us, there is not a lot to do.
