COUNCILLORS have delayed a decision on a planning application which would see a junior football club return to its village.

Heddon Juniors FC, who have 114 players across 15 junior teams, submitted a planning application to change the use of a field south of Selman Park Sports Field in Heddon from farming to leisure to provide football pitches for the club.

The submission of the application caused a dispute with Heddon-on-the-Wall Parish Council, which refused to allow the club to continue to use its facilities, including changing provisions, at Selman Park as the council felt the plans were an overdevelopment of the site.

At Monday’s Castle Morpeth Local Area Council meeting, club chairman Liam Duffy said: “We hope these plans can be approved to improve our children’s physical and mental health and social wellbeing.”

But concerns were raised by councillors over the site’s access. Coun. Peter Jackson, who represents Ponteland South with Heddon, said: “Putting additional pressure on that road is just asking for trouble.”

The application was deferred to ask the club to provide a traffic management plan, and ask Highways England for its opinions on access from the A69.