Club bosses optimistic as they set out their vision for the future
North Walsham Football Club's ground. Picture: Jamie Minors - Credit: Archant
Bosses at North Walsham Town FC have set out their vision for the future, after a dream move to a new football ground was scuppered by councillors.
Earlier this month, planners refused a new 200-home development in the town which held the key to the new ground.
The club wants to relocate to a larger site where it can focus all its activities in one place and provide greatly improved facilities.
That dream looked set to become a reality when a planning application for 200 houses on the land to the south of the club's existing ground on Greens Road included a proposal to provide 16 acres of land to the club further along Cromer Road.
But North Norfolk District Council's (NNDC) development committee refused the application, as per its officers' recommendation.
Several letters had also been received opposing the plans for the homes, between Aylsham and Greens Road on the western edge of the town, primarily due to traffic concerns, not because of the football club's plans for relocation.
Alex Brady, the club's chairman, said: 'Our vision for the club is that it will not only provide an encompassing football facility but generate economic benefit for the town by deeper links with the local business community.
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'The club should be a vehicle to showcase North Walsham to visitors and the benefits of living and working here.
'The football club can be an active participant to aid the district and town council's clear message that North Walsham is open for business in order to attract inward investment.'
He said that in recent years a lot of effort had been made at the club to stabilise the viability and community provision of football within the North Walsham area, which would continue. But they needed to find a new ground to move forward.
He added: 'Everyone at the club has a great deal of affection for Greens Road. However, our need to move to a more suitable location with better facilities and a larger capacity is no secret.
'Unfortunately, relocation has been stifled on more than one occasion so now is the time for all bodies to come together to formulate a concrete plan and deliver it for the benefit of the town and its future generations.'
