Waldon FC Torquay get dugout

Shelters to be liberated from shed

Football coaches and substitutes will be able to sit out of the wind and rain in shelters approved at a football pitch in Torquay.

Torbay Council’s planning committee voted in favour of allowing the ‘dugouts’ to be fixed to a concrete base on Windmill Hill playing fields.

Details of the base and fixings will have to be approved before they can be installed.The shelters will also have to be sealed and locked when not in use, and will have to be removed if no longer needed.

Councillors heard the shelters made of perspex on an aluminium frame are currently stored in a shipping container in the car park. Questions were raised about whether the container was unauthorised, and also about the planning status of a rail around the pitch. Councillors were told the issues would be investigated.

The planning application was submitted on behalf of Waldon Athletic Community Sports Club, which leases the playing fields from Torbay Council. The committee was told there had been four objections from three properties in the area. The objections said putting in the structures was against the lease agreement, and raised concerns about the risk of anti-social behaviour.

Planning officer Craig Davies said the lease was between the council and the club, and a senior council officer agreed to the shelters being installed. He said anti-social behaviour would be a matter for the police, and the planning condition to put in lockable shutters or doors would prevent them being used outside matches.

Cllr John Dudley proposed approving the shelters in line with the conditions set out by the officer covering fixing, use and removal. His move was seconded by Cllr Barbara Lewis, who said: “We need to support our local sports clubs during these difficult times.” The committee voted unanimously in favour at a meeting.