BUDDING young footballers at Bedale will have more scope for development if an ambitious project costing an estimated £450,000 reaches fruition.

There is so much pressure on existing pitches in and around the town that Bedale Junior FC sometimes has to cancel fixtures because there is no space.

In an attempt to solve the problem, the club has been working closely with the leisure department at Hambleton District Council on a scheme which would involve buying a plot of land and eventually building a fully equipped clubhouse.

It is hoped that grant aid can be secured from the Football Foundation and from local authority and other sources.

The successful club has about 200 young members who come not only from Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar but from places as widely scattered as Leyburn, Scruton, Crakehall, Hunton and Masham.

Club chairman Bob Taylor said the club was trying to overcome difficulties encountered in using pitches owned by Bedale High School and Bedale Athletic and Sports Association. It was sometimes unable to fulfil fixtures because no pitch was available.

Dave Goodwin, head of leisure and tourism at Hambleton, said the authority was committed to supporting local sports clubs and added: "About two years ago it was said that although the junior club was doing very good things in coaching opportunities, it had always been at the behest of someone else and that it needed its own space.

"We have done a feasibility study for and with the club, we have spoken to the council planners and we believe we have got a piece of land. We believe we know what it will cost to drain and level but negotiations have to take place to buy it."

Mr Goodwin said a meeting would take place early next month with the Football Foundation about possible grant aid. Other potential sources might include the county council and Hambleton.

While undertaking its own fundraising, the club was seeking support from parish councils in the area and it was hoped that local trust funds, businesses and the Yorventure organisation could help.

Mr Goodwin added: "This would be a very significant development not only in terms of football but because there are concerns nationally about the health of children, community safety and not enough opportunities for young people.

"Everyone is rallying to the cause of the club. People have been making suggestions as to where grant aid may come from locally."

l Hambleton and Bedale High School, which are working jointly towards a floodlit sports pitch at the school, are to investigate the possibility of seeking a share of £3.4m allocated to the county council under the Government's new opportunities fund to improve physical education in schools.

The multi-purpose pitch would be built on three of the tennis courts at the school in Firby Road