GUNNISLAKE?S thriving football club could be under threat unless drainage problems on the pitch are tackled soon. The recent rainfall has put paid to many matches because parts of the pitch have been too boggy to play. But club members have been told they cannot carry out works themselves because of soil contamination, prevalent in the former mining area, which was identified on the site in a report some years ago. Calstock Parish Council, which owns the pitch, has instructed the club not to proceed until it has received permission from Caradon District Council for the work to be carried out. A complex process means that remediation works to clean up the site, which is also the village playing field, and install drainage, are not likely to begin for another 18 months. Football club secretary Mike Kinger said the club would suffer if they could not have a reliable pitch and this season many matches had to be cancelled because it was too wet. He said: ?We have been told we can use the pitch at St Ann?s Chapel or Calstock but the one here is a far superior pitch when it is up and running. ?There is a lot of interest from youngsters in joining the football club and Gunnislake is very close to bursting into senior football ? to do that we need a reserve team which I have no doubt we can get if we can sort the pitch out.? Mr Kinger said this site was the village playing field with a play area for the children and tennis courts and was used by the whole community. ?It would be terrible if it had to be closed down ? we have had a football club in Gunnislake since 1895,? he said. The club secretary added that members were prepared to fund some drainage work: ?If we put some pipes on what is there, cover it with top soil and re-turf it would be good for a few years.? Caradon District councillor Godfrey Smale said works had been carried out in the past to improve the drainage but it had not really worked. A long-term solution, which includes removing the contaminated soil, has been estimated to cost in the region of £160,000 He said: ?The site is very low down and the rain comes down over the side of a hill ? we have looked for other sites to have a pitch but it is very hilly around here and football needs a reasonably flat surface. ?At the end of the day it comes down to money ? but if we leave it too long the football club will not have a home to go to.? Head of environmental health at Caradon District Council Martin Gregory said he did symphathise with the club but they were dealing with a contaminated playing field and that had to be sorted out. ?There is a complex piece of legislation that has to be followed which includes further investigations and consultations. To put someone on it full time it would take six months to a year and we do not have the resources for that. ?We cannot allow the club to dig the area or put in any drainage but what they can do is raise the level and put in a capillary break such as a layer of pea gravel to help drain the water.?