A VILLAGE football club which came close to being evicted is hoping for a brighter future, after drawing up plans to revamp its ground.

Prospects for Brandon United seemed bleak in 2007, when landlord Durham City Council gave the club just two weeks to agree a lease for the Welfare Ground.

However, a deal was reached and the club is now planning an £80,000 ground upgrade.

The scheme includes: erecting an eight-foot security fence to keep out vandals, building a 100-seat stand, refurbishing the existing stand and installing hard standing around the field.

A planning application has been submitted to Durham County Council and a decision is expected within weeks.

Club chairman Bill Fisher said the fence would have to come first but the new stand could be open by September.

He said: "The problems we’ve had with vandalism mean we’ve got to get the fence first. Until we get that the stand would be pointless.

"We’re trying to get the ground protected and put up some facilities so we’re moving in the right direction."

The club is applying for grants to fund the refurbishment, with officials hopeful half could come from the Football Foundation.

The new covered stand would be built next to the existing terraces, which would be re-stepped.

Brandon United, who attract a crowd of about 40 for home games, finished sixth in this season’s Northern League second division.

Mr Fisher said: "We want to get back into the first division.

"The club has always been one of the best in the North-East. We’ve had difficulties over the last three or four years which have forced us to go back to basics and get the club on a level footing.

"We’ve got no money. We don’t pay our players any expenses.

"But we’ve got a good bunch of lads. They were disappointed to finish sixth.

"Given another year and some of our younger players maturing, we think we’ll be up there challenging next season, if we can keep the team together."

The nearby social club, which closed in summer 2007, is being run by the workingmen’s club as Brandon commercial social club.

The football club has gained charitable status and secured a 25-year council lease on the Welfare Ground.