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<\/p>\nLOCALS fear their beloved football club is set to be demolished and replaced with 88 new build homes, tearing the heart from the community.<\/p>\n
Residents say they want Hastings United FC to stay put despite plans being approved for a new purpose-built stadium five miles away.<\/p>\n
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That would clear the way for 88 new homes to be built on the site of the empty ground at Pilot Field. <\/p>\n
Locals say the semi-professional club should stay exactly where it is and is the heartbeat of their vibrant community.<\/p>\n
Gina Ellis, 36, whose husband used to play for Hastings Utd, said: \u201cI think it should stay exactly where it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have problems on match days with increased traffic, inconsiderate parking and litter but they aren\u2019t too bad.<\/p>\n
Mrs Ellis, an insurance worker, said: \u201cIt could be so much worse and generally the club is a pretty good neighbour. People love going there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirsty Watson, 29, a mother-of-one, and: \u201cThe club does cause increased traffic and some parking problems but it is only around once a fortnight and its not extreme in any way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club is also an amenity for people who live here and has facilities which are used by the children and teenagers and to lose that would take something away from the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cAlso it doesn\u2019t make sense building dozens of new houses in that area when most of them won\u2019t be affordable to local people.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt would impact badly on local schools which are already stretched, drainage and infrastructure. <\/p>\n "The increase in traffic from nearly a 100 houses would be huge and the area already can\u2019t cope with the amount of traffic coming through here anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n The first football match to take place at the ground was between Rock-a-Nore and Chichester in 1920 with the visitors winning in front of a crowd of more than 1,000.<\/p>\n The first football match to take place was between Rock-a-Nore and Chichester in 1920 with the visitors winning in front of a crowd of more than 1,000.<\/p>\n Stands – including a main stand with a capacity of 800 – have been erected over the years to keep supporters dry and secure.<\/p>\n The known recorded record attendance for football at the Pilot Field is 12,527, when Hastings United drew 3-3 against Norwich City in the 1953-54 FA Cup third round tie.<\/p>\n Ryan Brunton, 29, a lorry driver, said: \u201cIt has always been here. I can\u2019t see why they can\u2019t improve the stadium there instead of moving. It doesn\u2019t seem right to transplant a community asset to a completely different location.\u201d<\/p>\n Tony Billings, 75, a retired deputy head teacher and former maths teacher, said: \u201cWe do have usual problems on match days. <\/p>\n "Cars can block grass verges, litter gets thrown n the ground and occasionally people get their drives blocked but all in all it is not too bad.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father used to go and watch the football every week and it has been part of the community for as a long as I can remember.<\/p>\n \u201cGive me the football ground any day. I know we need new houses and I\u2019m not against new housing developments – there have been two new ones very near by just recently – but this site is definitely not the right setting for it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a road that is already busy and the infrastructure round here just wouldn\u2019t be able to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruth Martin, 68, said: \u201cThe football club is at the heart of the community. I wouldn\u2019t like to see it go or be replaced by housing. It\u2019s a quiet area and while there is disruption on match days we love living here.\u201d<\/p>\n In June the council's full cabinet refused to support the club's plans to move from Pilot Field to the Tilekiln site.<\/p>\n A key section of the cabinet report read: "In addition to the lack of a viable business plan, and no agreement having been reached on a profit-sharing mechanism, there has been little or no satisfactory consultation with local residents in the areas affected, and insufficient recognition of the true meaning of the provision of community facilities. <\/p>\n "There remains concern that there would be a funding deficit estimated to be in the region of \u00a32m."<\/p>\n A council spokesperson said to The Sun: \u201cThe council agreed at Full Council in July that the plan for Hastings United Football Club to move to a new facility at Tile Kiln was nonviable for several reasons. <\/p>\n "We are pleased that the club is now in new, local, ownership, and we are already enjoying a new open relationship with them. <\/p>\n "Officers, the cabinet lead for leisure, ward councillors and local residents have been invited to the Pilot Field ground to discuss opportunities for supporting the club and much loved ground in alternative ways.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for Hastings United FC said: "We were disappointed not to receive the support of the council for the scheme in the summer. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/jadon-sancho-manchester-united-premier-846966409-1.jpg\")
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