Footballers are top of the league

A go-ahead Devon sports club wants to build a new stand for its fans to sit in. Alphington Sports Club, home of successful football and cricket teams, has applied to Exeter City Council for permission to build the 50-seater stand next to its pavilion building.

The club has been established for more than 100 years and has been active on its Church Road site for 60 to 70 years. It currently has 17 football teams in total, ranging from under-sevens boys’ teams to women’s, men’s and veterans teams as well as a walking football section.

The first team currently tops the Devon League, with the Premier Division of the Peninsula league the next target. The application says the club invests heavily in youth football, bringing young players through to the adult teams. Nurturing youth players, it says, is a prime aim.

The facilities and multi-use pitch are shared with Alphington Cricket Club, whose players won the South Devon League this year. Covered seating is required by the football club if it is to move up the league pyramid. Approval has already been given for floodlights.

The proposed seating area would be a pre-fabricated lightweight structure finished in dark metal. It would be behind homes in Church Road.

The club’s application goes on: “The effect of the use of the stand will be no different to spectators standing on the line as they do now. The semi-enclosed nature of the structure will assist in deflecting sound away from the houses and towards the pitch.

“The noise levels for day and evening hours in this area are already relatively high and this structure will not add to that level.

“Taken in context, use of the seating for a couple of hours at a time at matches during the football and cricket season is a very small proportion of the year. This will not be intrusive given the busy urban character of Church Road and the surrounding area.”