CONTROVERSIAL plans for a football stadium on land in Cheltenham Road, Evesham were to be determined today at a planning meeting.

The outlined plans on a green field site to the west side of the Cheltenham Road were passed by Wychavon District Council last year despite a campaign by neighbours to quash them.

The detailed plans include a clubhouse, a main pitch, car parking and two practice pitches. District council officers are recommending that they should be approved providing the club meets a long list of conditions, and a legal agreement is signed. The agreement would oblige the club to provide advanced landscape planting, pay £25,000 for cycling facilities in the vicinity, limit advertising to inside the main pitch, and apply for a waiting limit for the lay-by south of the A46/A44 roundabout.

Evesham United Football Club has been attempting to relocate to a new site for 13 years and has submitted several applications in an around the town with no success.

The club hopes to move, sell their Common Road site for housing, and use the profit to update their facilities.

The original plans for the Cheltenham Road site sparked 90 letters of objection from local people including members of RAGE, Ruralists Against Green Erosion, and Hinton-on-the-Green and Aston Somerville parish council.

On the current amended plans there are 23 letters of objection and 57 pro-forma letters compiled and circulated by RAGE and signed by local residents.

Many of them feel it is an unnecessary development on a greenfield site and object to the size of the clubhouse.

There have been two letters received in support of the new football ground.

The application also received the backing of Evesham Town Council.