‘I just want somebody to care’: Honiton Town Youth FC in race to find new home

Honiton Town Youth Football Club is facing a "race against time" to gain planning permission for its new home.

Trustees and volunteers at the club wish to leave their current location near St. Rita's, where they have been for 20 years, saying it is 'completely unsuitable' due to a lack of access and facilities. 

The club's proposed new home is on land west of Tower Road and north of Honiton Golf Club and would include a clubhouse, parking, storage and football pitches for all ages. 

Currently players, coaches and supporters have to walk down an unpaved track to get to the youth pitches which are 500m from the main gate on Ottery Moor Lane.

Club chair Jon Leisk - who is also treasurer, coach and maintenance worker - said he is forced to have to turn people away from the club due to the facilities.

"Our current site was meant to be temporary, but we have been there 20 years. It is simply not fit for purpose. We need 10 acres, and the current site is three. We are turning people away who want to join the cub," he told Nub News.

"Apart from the size, there are a number of issues with the current site. Firstly, access. All the players have to walk down a dirt track to access the playing fields which means that wheelchairs and prams cannot come, and it is a long walk for the smaller children. 

"Families with babies in prams can't come to watch siblings play and for many months of the year we are walking through deep mud and puddles. 

The youth team's pitches are 500m from the club's carpark and 500m from Smileys Cafe. The red lines show the two routes to the pitches from the closest parking facilities. (Credit: Jon Leisk)

"There is no emergency access should we need an ambulance and because there is limited parking outside the gate, people are leaving their cars near Smileys Café and crossing the A30 slip road, which is extremely dangerous. 

"Secondly, facilities. We have no changing rooms or toilets. This means children have to go to the toilet in the bushes or simply wait until the end of the match, because they can't walk back to the toilets alone. 

"The lack of toilets means children, and girls in particular, are dropping out, especially as they get older. They simply won't risk needing to use the bathroom and being stuck there, so they stop coming. It is ridiculous that we are in this situation."

The proposed land near the Honiton Golf Club is part of the Combe Estate and the owner has agreed to lease the land to the club at a much lower rate than the club currently pays.

Honiton Town Council is supporting the application and, based on the comments on the council planning site, members of the public are broadly in favour of the move. 

The club has so far spent £15,000 on planning documents and reports for East Devon District Council (EDDC) and John believes it needs to spend a further £20,000 in order to submit them all, but he has been given a deadline by the council. 

"It is a race against time to submit the reports - on everything from bats to flowers to drainage - but also to find the money. We are a charity, and we're not getting enough support."

Jon - a club volunteer of 20 years - has spoken to local MP Richard Foord who has pledged to see if he can get the council to help the club more. Violet Bonetta, a member of EDDC and Honiton resident, also visited the site this week to see if she can assist with the application process. 

Jon said: "Hopefully we are moving in the right direction now in terms of support. I've been at the club for 20 years now, and I can't just sit back and let this application collapse. I am not a planning expert and this application is physically and mentally draining. 

"This is a community facility for Honiton's young people, to help improve their health and mental wellbeing.

"I just want someone to care about the club as much as the volunteers and the children do. It's so important."