Deal Town have been granted permission by Dover District Council to build a new clubhouse at the Charles Sports Ground.

The council had received 18 objections from nearby residents, mostly on noise grounds, to the plan under which the old existing wooden clubhouse would be demolished and replaced by a sectional timber building on the opposite corner of the ground.

Deal Town chairman, Stuart McCluskey, had warned that the club's future would be in serious jeopardy if the application was turned down because the club badly needed the bar revenue from an improved clubhouse.

And, at Thursday's meeting of the Council's planning committee, the application was passed unanimously after the councillors were told that the Council had received over 600 letters in support of the application, and that the club had offered to install a level of sound-proofing in the new building twice as high as would normally be required.

Cllr Nick Kenton, from Eastry, said: "Deal Town Football Club is a wonderful asset to the town, especially their youth section which provides football for over 450 youngsters."

Mr McCluskey said: "I would like to thank the people of Deal for their support over the clubhouse. We can now start to move forward with the project, which will eventually benefit a large number of kids and adults within the town."