Ashford Hockey Club has submitted plans to build nine homes on its land in a bid to shore-up its long-term finances.

In November it was revealed that club chairman Paul Dawson had written to members urging them to back the plan, which will see the construction of the four-bedroom detached houses in Canterbury Road.

He said the facilities at Ball Lane are “deteriorating rapidly” and warned that the club continues to face a dwindling membership as players opt to go elsewhere.

Mr Dawson said: “This application is fundamental to ensuring the future financial viability of our club, and will generate essential funds to resurface our pitch, improve other facilities, and relieve the club of capital and interest payments on our mortgage.”

He said there are currently 140 adult players and 200 junior players using the astroturf pitch, which needs to be resurfaced at a cost of £200,000 every 10 years, while the cost of a new pitch could cost as much as £800,000.

But the plan has sparked concerns among residents and from Cllr Winston Michael (Ind) who fear that the homes could be a trojan horse for the full scale future development at the site.

Cllr Michael said: “I fear the development of nine houses at the site could lead to another nine, and then another nine. The land is classified as a playing field for sports. Allowing houses could create a principle that the rest of the land could also be built on.”

The new scheme follows the abortive plan by the hockey club to sell off its entire site to make way for 230 homes and move to land across the road, which was finally ditched in 2011.

It would lead to the loss of one of the football pitches used by Kennington Juniors Football Club, which has 400 youngsters playing regularly.

But the hockey club said the pitch space will be reorganised and will not have an “adverse effect” on the footballers, and said the application as a whole will create a “substantial public benefit”.

For more information about the plan visit www.ashford.gov.uk/planning and search for reference 16/01845/AS.

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