Plans for a new sports hub and football “centre of excellence” have been opposed by members of an allotment association.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has listed the scheme, on the Hawkenbury Recreation Ground and adjoining land, as one of its “eight big projects” in its draft Local Plan.

But there are fears if it goes ahead, it could encroach on a 130-year-old allotment nearby.

The borough’s Local Plan is currently being scrutinised by a government inspector, Matthew Birkinshaw, at public hearings being conducted in Tunbridge Wells Town Hall.

He heard Tunbridge Wells Football Club would take on the proposed stadium, the size of which would be flexible, dependent on their success going forward.

It was suggested the capacity of the ground would be up to 3,000, however.

While in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division there are no FA requirements relating to stand size, but that would alter “as the they progress through the football pyramid.”

The inquiry heard the club had a 10-year plan to progress to the national league.

The inspector was concerned as to whether the highway authority had fully understood the scale of the borough council’s ambition for the site when it had considered access issues.

He was told KCC was happy with the borough’s plans to widen the access road, High Woods Lane, to 6m and to provide additional ancillary parking there.

To do that, the council would utilise the existing grass verge and may need to remove part of an adjacent hedge that borders the Hawkenbury Allotments, which was what sparked protests by the allotment holders.

The borough owns the freehold of the allotments, but has leased the land to the allotment association until 2029.

Dr Janet Sturgis for the association said: “We have been left out of this whole process.”

She said: “The grass verge is next to our very tall and ancient hedge which is the boundary of the allotments.

“To widen the road without affecting that hedge, which is our security boundary, is impossible.

“The council feels that because it owns the land, it can do anything, bash down the hedge, widen the road and off we go.

“But there are 300 plots on that allotment, many of them - especially those which are close to the hedge - are gardened by elderly people.

“Just the other side of the hedge there are 18 raised beds for disabled allotment holders that would have to go if the road was widened.

“The assumption that there is a blank space next to High Woods Lane is far from the case.

“It’s full of people who delight to be there. It’s kept people going through Covid. It’s been going there since 1895.

“The idea that you can destroy that just to make way for car parking is unbelievably crass.”

In response, the council said nine car parking spaces could be accommodated within the verge as it was, without touching the hedge.

There was an ambition to provide a further 10 spaces which would require removal of the hedgerow.

But the council said that ambition was in order to replace the informal parking already taking place on the verge, thought to be by users of the allotments, and was not part of the parking provision for the stadium.

“It’s full of people who delight to be there. It’s kept people going through Covid. It’s been going there since 1895…”

The council plans that Hawkenbury should become a centralised sports hub, so that other sports grounds could come forward for housing.

Eventually the existing sports grounds at Culverden Stadium Football Ground, Colebrook Sports Pitches, and Bayham West Sports Pitch would all be built upon - but not until the Hawkenbury site was up and running.

But the borough council doesn’t own the land at Hawkenbury at present.

It has been collecting Section 106 contributions from developers towards its purchase but told the inspector it was prepared to use compulsory purchase powers if necessary to acquire it.

The hearings continue.