A VILLAGE football team claims its future could be kicked into the long grass – weeks before the season begins.
Hurst FC says overgrown scrubland at one end of its Hinton Road ground means footballs kicked into the area are lost for good.
And it warns it cannot afford to keep replacing the balls which cost up to £60 each.
But the club said that Wokingham Borough Council claimed the grass is an “important wildlife corridor” and will only cut it back every four years.
They have told Hurst FC, which has a number of youth and adult teams, to erect a high fence behind the goal to stop balls ending up in the scrub.
However, the club say it cannot afford to pay for a fence and wants the grass cut back more frequently.
Dean Cooper, communications officer for Hurst FC, said: “We’re not just talking about long grass, it’s more like a jungle.
“If a ball lands in the scrub it’s so thick, you simply can’t get in to retrieve it. We’ve lost a couple of footballs and because of the leagues we play in, the balls have to be of a certain standard.
“We are talking about £60 each. That is a cost we simply cannot afford to keep paying.”
Dean added the club was “very disappointed” that Wokingham Borough Council only planned to cut back the growth every four years.
“We are not against the grass being allowed to grow to help wildlife,” he explained.
“But we do think it could be better managed and kept at a reasonable level so wildlife is protected and encouraged and we don’t keep losing footballs.
“The council have told us the solution is to build a high fence behind the goal but the cost is prohibitive for a small club like ours.”
In a statement, Cllr Norman Jorgensen, executive member for environment, sports, environmental health, leisure and libraries at WBC said: “The nature reserve on that side of the pitch has scrub vegetation behind the stream, creating an important wildlife corridor.
“We suggested last year a compromise to cut that section every four years, which would still allow us to manage it as a low scrub for wildlife. The club and the parish council said they were happy with this solution.
“Also, as an act of goodwill we also cut the section next to the reserve belonging to the parish council, at their request, and that also outside the reserve next to the stream. The latter we did again earlier this month.
“The simplest solution would be for the club to erect a fence and netting along this boundary to stop the balls going in.”
Hurst FC play their home games at Stow Bridge on Hinton Road in Charvil.
Dean said the parish council had been “very helpful” in cutting the grass on other areas around the pitch.
“Charvil Parish Council has also started to erect a small fence about four feet high on three sides of the ground which will prevent footballs from rolling in the stream and scrub. However, any high balls kicked over the goals will still be lost,” he added.
“We are very disappointed at the council’s response. We have tried explaining the situation to them but they don’t seem to listen. I don’t see any point in meeting with them again.
“We play our first home game at the beginning of September so we are hoping the council will understand our plight and cut the scrub back a bit so wildlife will still benefit and we won’t lose as many footballs.”
