Ponteland clubhouse plan could be scuppered if 12 trees cannot be felled

Ponteland Rugby Club and Ponteland United FC set up a joint company earlier this year to create the new facility.

The rugby club needs it because it is the only one in Northumberland not to have its own changing rooms and social facilities, and the football club cannot progress further up the national leagues without them.

The building would be located on land between the rugby and football pitches, where the car park for the old Ponteland Leisure Centre used to be, and next to the new state-of-the-art school and sports centre.

But to make space for it, 12 trees need to be removed.

The clubhouse committee therefore submitted an application to Northumberland County Council to vary the conditions of the planning permission for the school and sports centre, which states no more trees on the site can be felled.

But despite promising to plant at least 24 replacement trees, the application was turned down in the summer and a second, similar application looks set to go the same way.

The committee therefore has to decide in the new year whether to continue to go down this ‘planning variation’ route – which does not spell out why the trees need to be removed – or submit a full planning application for the new clubhouse.

A full application would explain why it wants to cut them down but it is an expensive, time-consuming and detailed process which could come to nothing if removal of the trees remains a sticking point.

Rugby club president David Comesky explained: “We do not want to cut the trees down, it’s the last thing we want to do, but there’s nowhere else for us to build a clubhouse.

"We’re therefore not sure what our next step is planning-wise; the clubhouse committee will need to continue discussions to decide the best way forward.

"But we’re not giving up. If we fail, we will have to look at alternatives.”

The land for the clubhouse will be gifted to the two clubs if they raise the money needed, and win planning permission for it.

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “Ponteland sporting clubs submitted a request for a Community Asset Transfer which was approved, subject to the clubs securing planning permission and funding for the project.”

A crowdfunding appeal for the £1m, has been suspended until the planning issues are ironed out, but Mr Comesky said the project had secured support from private sponsors and “one major benefactor”.

The crowdfunding page is still online and states “We did it”, but only a fraction of the total was raised – £1,845 via 20 supporters in 69 days.

And not everyone is in favour of plans to build a clubhouse so close to Ponteland’s new leisure centre.

Jean Banks, 68, who has lived in the village all her life, said: “We have this state-of-the-art facility, just what the area needed, and I am gutted at the idea of annexing a piece of the land for this clubhouse.

"It would be like an act of vandalism, I think. Surely the local community ought to have a say in this?

"What about other worthwhile community organisations who might want to make use of this land, ones with more specialised needs? It doesn’t seem fair.”

• What do you think? Do you support plans for a new clubhouse? Or would you prefer the land to be used for something else? Email your views to [email protected]