A community football club have been handed the keys to their council-owned stadium, paving the way for plans to open an enterprise and education centre at the site.

Thanet District Council agreed to sell the freehold of the WW Martin Community Stadium, Southwood to Ramsgate FC for £265,000.

The decision to transfer the ownership was made at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, September 22.

A club spokesman described it as "a huge stride towards [the club's] ultimate ambition of building a new stand that can become a mixed enterprise and education centre," to help reduce local unemployment.

The club have been long-term tenants of the stadium for more than 70 years, but the meeting was told the rent they paid was not a major source of revenue for the council.

Shadow council leader Cllr Rick Everitt (Lab) said: “I support this proposal to transfer the freehold, I think it’s the right thing to do. Clearly the rent is derisory.”

But he raised concerns the club could apply to change the use of the Price's Avenue stadium, as its location in a residential area isn't ideal for a football club.

He suggested a restriction on the transfer terms which would bar the club from being able to apply for a change of use for the premises for five years.

The amendment was accepted, but the meeting heard the transfer of the freehold is already conditional on the site’s continuing use for football and associated activities.

The transfer also includes a 50% overage provision, meaning if the premises are sold at any point in future for a different use, the council will receive 50% of any increase in its value.

Cllr Reece Pugh, (Con), cabinet member for economic development, said of the overage provision and restriction on use: "Both of those conditions are designed to ensure that it continues to be a football club, and more so that it’s not just us disposing of an asset and somebody making a quick buck off of it.”

Chairman of Ramsgate FC James Lawson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve got no plans to do anything other than our enterprise and education centre as part of a stand here.”

Of the five-year limitation, he added: "Provided we’re able to achieve those community goals, I don’t really mind how things are written up.

“We’ve got a thousand kids in the youth section, and we do lots and lots of summer holiday activities and food programmes. So we have up to 400 local families on those programmes.”

The club also have links to more than 100 local businesses who are either sponsors, or involved with the club.

Mr Lawson continued: "We’ve got ourselves to the point where we’ve become almost a hub between education and employment in the local area. So ultimately our long-term aim is to put a new stand here, that becomes an education and enterprise centre.

“It’s a shame that more clubs don’t do it. We’re in a real central position to bring those things together.”

He said the transfer of the freehold will help them in this plan.

“Obviously if we don’t own the land here, we can’t raise the money to realise that for the community," he said.

"That was the whole premise behind the council offering us the freehold.”

On raising finances, he added: “There’s a lots of different irons in the fire. As you can imagine, these things are long, slow processes.”