DEAL Town have been granted permission to build a new clubhouse at the Charles Sports Ground.

Dover District Council had received 18 objections from nearby residents, mostly on noise grounds.

The plan is for the old wooden clubhouse to be demolished and replaced by a timber building in 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.

At Thursday’s meeting of the council’s planning committee, the application was passed unanimously after the councillors were told that the planning department had received more than 600 letters in support of the application, and that the football 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.

“We can now start to move forward with the project, which will eventually benefit a large number of kids and adults within the town.”

The new clubhouse will cost in the region of £75,000. Deal Town Supporters Club have already raised more than £30,000 and the club is now seeking grant aid support to help pay the rest.