I am sorry to report to you all that on Saturday morning we received some extremely disappointing news regarding our development plan. As you are all aware, in September, we submitted an application to North Somerset Council for planning permission to erect three changing room units alongside our Somerset County League pitch at the Grove (this was a separate issue to the fence surround which didn’t require planning permission and for which Nailsea Town Council has since given us consent).

As many of you will have read in the local press, Nailsea Town Council decided not to support our planning application, but we were still hopeful that North Somerset, as the local planning authority, would still give consent to the proposal. However, we have since been advised that they too have decided to reject our application on the grounds that the development would be incompatible with the surroundings at the Grove and would ‘unacceptably harm the character and appearance of the surrounding area’. There has been strong objection from a small number of local residents which also didn’t do us any favours whatsoever. We have the right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Environment, against North Somerset’s decision, which we will need to submit within 3 months if we decide to take this option.

This is all of course a massive disappointment since the plan we had was affordable and would have enabled us to make significant strides toward advancement as a Club. We have also put an awful lot of time, money and effort into this proposal and to see it rejected on the grounds that it would visually impair what is a sports field seems incredibly unfair, but such are the views of some councillors and residents. It’s difficult not to feel bitter since all we are trying to do is make things better for the footballers of Nailsea United FC.

As a Club we now need to decide our next steps. Yes, we can appeal, but we need to think very carefully how strong a case we can put. Already, we have been advised that a legal representative might be needed and even then the case (to argue that the Grove is not simply an ‘open space’ but a sports field) might not be sufficient. In addition and as recently reported, we have received the FA blueprint for advancement to the Western League and this demands floodlights together with further additional requirements for promotion to be realised. Being realistic, floodlights are never going to be an option at the Grove.

In conclusion, the Club Committee have some strategic decisions to make, one of which maybe has to be whether our long term future might be best served at a new location where we can deliver what is required to gain Screwfix status. However, there is the here and now. We have permission to erect a fence surround and should we also be looking at ways to improve our existing facilities in the Grove Sports Centre itself? The Club Committee will be meeting on the 21st of this month to fully discuss this.

Can I ask you all to keep faith with the Club and what we are trying to achieve. Believe me, this setback will not deter our will to take the Club forward. Our immediate Screwfix League ambitions may have been thwarted but as a Club Committee we are totally committed to making improvements for the benefit of its players and members.

Spence