PLANS to create a football pitch on the site of a social club that burnt down have been delayed.

At a Skerne Park Community Partnership meeting, community development worker Sue Davison said she had become increasingly frustrated because work had not been carried out.

She said she had arranged a meeting on the site of the proposed pitch, off Coleridge Gardens, with Paul Crompton, Darlington Borough Council's head of parks and open spaces.

"He was under the impression work had taken place," she said.

"I took him there and he agreed it was a bit of a state.

"There had been some seeding done but it hadn't been raked and there were still burnt bits of the club left over and he agreed it wasn't a very good job.

"It's getting to summer and it's important there is somewhere to play football."

The meeting was told the earliest that the pitch could be ready for use would be in two months' time if workers continued with using grass seed, but it could be ready in about a month if it was turfed.

Members were concerned that if the turf was of a similar standard to that used in some of gardens on the estate, it would not be good enough for the pitch. But they agreed that it should be turfed.

A spokesman for Darlington council said problems had arisen on the site because the ground had been too damp and boggy.

"We have already got the goalposts and team shelter and we are waiting to turf the area, and if the weather dries up it should be sorted in two to three weeks," he said.