NORTHUMBERLAND County Council has kicked off plans to create three new football pitches in Prudhoe.

At a meeting of its strategic planning committee, permission was granted to redevelop the Eastwoods Middle School site into a new sports facility.

The school buildings, vacant for a decade, will be demolished, as will the caretaker’s bungalow and several areas of hard-standing.

The application, from County Hall, will see three football pitches installed in total on the site.

The site comprises two parcels of land, one accommodating the middle school buildings.

The other portion of land is to the east of Eastwood Road, currently used for playing fields, equipped play and ancillary parking.

The whole site will be levelled and pitches installed to Football Foundation standards.

The pitches will not be floodlit, but three metre fences will be erected around the pitches and netting set up behind the goals.

The existing access road on Broomhouse Road will be blocked up. Cars will access the facility via the north-east corner of the site and pedestrian access will be created at various points on each boundary.

The existing car park will be expanded with 70 new spaces, spreading into the grass verge alongside the existing children’s play area.

Because of this proximity, a steel fence will be erected between the car park and play area.

The new facility will be managed and occupied by Prudhoe Youth Club Football Club, which has been using the site for the past eight years.

The club currently has 28 teams with over 350 players from the local community.

When consulted on regarding the plans, the sports development manager for West Northumberland said that opportunities for local sports clubs were limited in Prudhoe.

The statement read: “The project would allow football to sustain and grow, as well as increasing quality of provision and therefore has fullsupport from the sports development team.”