A JUNIOR football club may yet succeed in its bid to change the use of a farmer’s field to provide young footballers with pitches and facilities.

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 application went before councillors at Castle Morpeth Local Area Council on November 11, but councillors voted to delay the application over concerns surrounding road safety.

It was agreed that the application would be returned to the committee once Highways England had provided a comment – and the agency has now confirmed it had no objections to the proposals.

Heddon Juniors chairman, Liam Duffy, said he hoped the statement would mean the club could move forward.

He said: “Hopefully, with this Highways England statement and our own surveys and plans, we can look to prove the doubters wrong.

“At the end of the day, our aim to develop a safe and secure sports facility for the current and future children of this club.

“Within two years, we’ve grown to approximately 140 children. That in itself shows the direct need and requirement for the club in this area.”

Castle Morpeth Local Area Council is due to meet on December 9.