PROPOSALS for a new community sports facility on land next to the County Ground have taken a step forward after the council’s cabinet voted to grant a 25-year lease on the site.

The Swindon Town Football in the Community Trust is looking to build a full-size astroturf pitch alongside a clubhouse to be shared with the Swindon Harriers Athletics Club.

In addition to granting the lease, the council has agreed to contribute £215,000 taken from funds provided by developers as part of planning applications in the area.

Jon Holloway, head of the STFITC Trust, said: “We’re over the moon. It’s been a long process and I’m well aware there’s lots of hard work still to be done.

“We’ve got to get full planning permission now. We’re hoping the Premier League will be one of the main funders but we can’t apply to them before we get the planning permission.

“It’s been a huge amount of work by a lot of people and we’ll continue to work hard.”

Planning officers are expected to consider the proposals in the coming months, but concerns have been raised that the design submitted for approval is not the one agreed during a public consultation.

Coun Bob Wright (Lab - Central) says that residents, many of whom were concerned about losing the space they use for dog walking and informal leisure use, will feel ignored if the design they backed is not the one that is given the green light.

“There was one design that followed the line of the path and left a fairly large space for casual play,” said Coun Wright.

“It was nowhere near as big as it is now but it was big enough for five-a-side football, volleyball or cricket.

“An agreement was reached, I was in the room when a final decision was taken.

“But that plan is not the one that has been submitted. The trust has put the original design back on the table where all the public space would go. That was not the result of the consultation.

“I’m not accepting it, that’s the one we rejected.”

The consultation was facilitated by Swindon Borough Council but the plans that were ultimately submitted for approval came directly from the STFITC Trust via its agent.

The trust said it was unable to comment on the claim that the design agreed on at the consultation phase had been replaced until after discussions with the council’s planning team, scheduled for next week.

But Jon Holloway said his team remained committed to bringing local residents onboard.

He said: “Our objective right from the start is to make a facility that everyone will be proud of.

“There are a lot of people that think we only deliver football activities, but that’s far from it.”