Pinchbeck United Football Club shares its plans for future development of junior and senior football in the village

Pinchbeck United Football Club has revealed plans which it hopes will secure its long-term future in the village.

Chairman Gary Coomes hopes the club can develop a new junior football academy to cater for at least 1,000 children on land off Northgate, Pinchbeck.

There are also plans to improve the sports ground used by the club in Knight Street, Pinchbeck, with floodlights, fencing, footpath around the grass pitch and spectator stand.

Planning permission for the improvements was given by South Holland District Council in June 2017, but the football club is waiting for Pinchbeck Parish Council to agree a long-term lease of the sports ground.

Mr Coomes said: "We have 17 teams in our junior section but they have no land to play on and no area big enough to get them all on.

"So the juniors are playing all over South Holland and our ultimate plan is to move down to Northgate where we hope to get as many pitches as we can, calling it Pinchbeck United Junior Football Club.

"As well as that, Knight Street is our traditional home and we have planning permission in place to develop the ground.

"But all we need now is for the parish council to give us a 25-year lease on that piece of land so we can get funding from the Football Association to develop it."

Villagers had their chance to hear about the plans at a public meeting in Pinchbeck earlier this month.

Pinchbeck United's successful men's team has achieved successive promotions and, as a result, currently play their home games at Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field in Spalding.

But the main concern for villagers, according to Mr Coomes, was the proposal to use land in Northgate for the junior teams.

Mr Coomes said: "The problem we have, as a community sports club, is that we have no land and it's difficult to rent facilities because all of them are in use.

"We have a football club in Pinchbeck that operates seven days a week and the public meeting was a chance for us to put our business plan forward, as well as for the public to raise any issues.

"I didn't hear anything at the meeting that made me think 'we haven't thought of that before', but we're willing to work with any of the villagers to find a solution.

"But for people who have kids in Pinchbeck, what would be better than having a community sports facility right on your doorstep."

Pinchbeck Parish Council is due to discuss the football club's plans at a meeting on January 28.

Coun Richard Dobbs, parish council chairman, said: "The council has given Pinchbeck United Football Club a good opportunity to express its desire for the future at what was an open meeting where parishioners could hear about the club's plans."