Football club 'devastated' by damaged pitches

A youth football club says it has been left with nowhere to train after trenches were dug across its pitches.

More than 300 children play for Churchdown Panthers Football Club, which uses pitches at Dowty Sports and Social Club near Staverton, Gloucestershire.

The Ashville Group has submitted planning applications to turn the site into a business park.

Ashville, which owns the Dowty site, said the club management were told there would be "some disruption" due to a required "archaeological sample dig". Club secretary Isobel Greaves said the damage was "devastating".

Churchdown Panthers manager, Ian Greaves, said it was "nothing short of vandalism" and had left the pitches unusable.

"If somebody had come to speak to me and said they needed to do this and work with me, or the club, or the chairman, we could have come to some situation where we could probably have protected the majority of these pitches.

"We've had to cancel friendly matches here. What we're going to do pre-season we're not sure yet, because it's all up in limbo just now," he added.

Ashville Group wants to turn more than 33 acres of land into a new business park with a warehouse and offices.

It has also proposed relocating a day centre and the Dowty sports and social club, alongside creating a new outdoor sport and recreation facility.

The club believes it will be able to move to the new facilities in the future, but Greaves fears that may not happen.

"We are human, so when you come across this and you're not getting answers to anything, it does make you wonder what the long-term result of this is going to be."

The Ashville Group said: "The pitches have now been restored and are available for use.

"Equally, if Ashville's planning application is approved, the football clubs will soon have access to more modern facilities provided by Dowty Sports Club as well as an equivalent number of playing pitches," it added.

Richard Fishlock, the strategic lead for active environments at Active Gloucestershire said: "Local sports pitches and community spaces help people stay active, improve their physical and mental health, and bring communities together.

"We know these facilities matter a great deal to local people and clubs, and our work shows they are still needed.

"Any future plans should make sure there are suitable, easy-to-access facilities so people can keep being active and playing sport.

"We understand this situation may be worrying for clubs and users. We are committed to helping them look at other options and temporary venues so they can keep going and continue to thrive," Fishlock added.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.