New football stands to seat more than 150 spectators could be built at a community football pitch in Nottinghamshire. The multi-million pound YMCA Community and Activity Village in Newark features facilities including tennis courts, an athletics track and football pitches.
To enhance the latter, the organisation is now planning to install stands and turnstiles to accommodate more spectators. Newark and Sherwood District Council is recommending that the plans should be approved, which would see the construction of a covered stand with 105 seats and another grandstand with 64 seats.
Turnstiles would also be installed at the site, along with a building to house them. A report to be presented before councillors says that development on the wider site also remains in progress.
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The report says: "The site has been subject to development in recent years. At the time of the officer site visit the site featured the approved car park immediately adjacent to but separated from the leisure centre car park as well as some of the approved sporting facilities including the athletics track and football pitches.
"The main building was substantially complete in construction terms albeit not operational." In its comments on the plans, Newark Town Council wanted concerns addressing around how floodlights at the pitch would be managed to prevent disruption to neighbouring properties.
But developers say that the nearest properties are 250 metres away and that the new seating might not increase the number of spectators, it would just give them somewhere to sit. The report adds: "Whilst there may be some increased noise and disturbance during matches, this would largely be blocked by the building and the aforementioned distances to neighbouring properties.
"The proposal relates to the formalisation of spectating and does not necessarily mean that there would be a greater number of spectators than that associated with the extant development with no associated facilities." The report concludes that the application should be approved as it would increase the sporting offer of the YMCA site.
The two pitches at the YMCA site can be used by various teams and clubs, with coaching sessions also being delivered there. A decision will be made on the new plans at a meeting of Newark and Sherwood District Council's planning committee on Thursday, September 8.
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