AN amateur football club at Horrabridge with ambitious plans to extend its premises is calling on the parish council to lend its support to the scheme.
Horrabridge Rangers Football Club wants to start the development at its Fillace Park ground in time for its 100th anniversary next year — but needs the backing of the parish council, trustees of Fillace Park.
The club has planning permission from Dartmoor National Park Authority to extend the pavilion at Fillace Park but it is due to run out this month — it needs permission from the trustees to renew planning consent and to back up a second Lottery bid.
The club runs three junior teams at under 8, under 11 and under 14 level in addition to its senior team and has plans to run more junior teams next year — it even has its own internet website.
Ian Mulholland, who coaches the juniors, said the club was expanding and needed to extend its antiquated facilities to cope with demand.
'On a weekend if we have a senior team and two juniors playing we could have three hundred people there during the afternoon.
'The youth club is only open two nights a week and that's not enough. There is nothing for the kids to do and we are trying to help them.
'It's the club's centenary next year as well — it's something we would like to get up and running for that.'
Mr Mulholland said Horrabridge Rangers had stuck to the specifications of the parish council and agreed to use a name chosen by it for the extended pavilion.
He added: 'We have written to them, we have been to council meetings, we have had site meetings with them — one time we even laid it out showing them how big it would be — a letter, that is all we need,' he said.
But the club has not secured the backing of the parish council. Peter Masoli, chairman of the council, described the club's proposal as 'not viable' and said the authority could not agree with it. He declined to comment further.
Club president Bill Coleman disagreed the extension was not a viable proposition, given the popularity of football in the village.