A LOCAL football club has been forced to cancel a large number of games amid a parking row with a “short-sighted” parish council.
The team claims it has been refused extra spaces, despite even offering to pay double the standard cost, to make way for a monthly event.
GoogleA Gloucestershire football club has allegedly been forced to cancel matches amid a parking row with the local parish council[/caption]
Leonard Stanley Sharks, based in the small Gloucestershire village of the same name, has a roster of 150 players but only enough bays for 20 cars are their ground.
The club chairman, Dean Ackland, claims that he requested the use of the 40 bays outside the neighbouring village hall but was denied by the parish council.
The lack of space has allegedly led to parents and supporters parking on local roads, resulting in complaints from the community.
Nonetheless, Mr Ackland claims, the council is refusing to allow them to use the hall car park and are keeping the gate locked.
The council says it will be in touch with the Sharks over the dispute.
As a result of the dispute, the club has had to cancel all non-league matches across all age groups.
Mr Ackland told BBC News that the disagreement had turned into a “two-year struggle”.
He said: “We’ve offered to pay for the hire of the village hall at double the rate.
“But the parish council said no, because they have a cinema that runs once a month – they shut the gate and we can’t use it.”
While thanking the council for the £130,000 invested in the club’s pavilion, he accused members of being “short-sighted” in their decision over the parking arrangement.
He also claimed that it will cost a further £40,000 to build a new car park that supporters can use.
As well as cancelling matches, the training schedule has also had to be adjusted to reduce demand.
The club has moved to a staggered calendar throughout the week, while training sessions for all age groups were previously held together on a Friday.
Paul Webster, whose son plays for the Shark’s Under-11s, alleged that parents were having to “abandon their cars on the side of the road” and dubbed the situation an “absolute nightmare”.
He added that the decision was “frustrating” in light of the fact that, according to Sharks fans, the village hall car park is “empty most weeks”.
A spokesperson for Leonard Stanley Parish Council said: “The football club has a good following and provides a valuable service within the community.
“Unfortunately, as is common with other similar sporting clubs, the car park is quite small and therefore, cars overspill onto residential streets, sometimes with little thought for other highway users.
“However, the parish council is not responsible for on-street parking.
“The parish council has always supported the football clubs in the village and has recently spent a very large sum on a major refurbishment of the sports pavilion for the benefit of all involved.”
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