A NEW home is the goal for one of the borough's most popular football clubs.

Feltham Football Club has kicked off plans for a move from its "decrepit" base at Feltham Arenas to a brand new stadium complex in Green Lane, Hounslow.

The Blues have been at Shakespeare Avenue for 40 years but have finally reached the end of their tether with the decaying premises - penalties of being based there include vandalism and an artificial pitch.

They are keen to leave the dilapidated dinosaur, whose eight-year-old plastic pitch has been ruled offside by some of the authorities and thus prevents them from taking part in competitions such as the FA Cup.

The £1 million development at Green Lane would offer a first team pitch, four junior pitches, a clubhouse and a slimmed down stadium with room for about 300 spectators, compared with a claimed 10,000 capacity at the current ground. At present, the junior and senior teams play at different sites.

The new complex would be funded by a combination of grants and private contributions.

A planning application was submitted this week for the Green Lane site and the club believes it would enable them to develop as a real community organisation. Officials say they are more interested in building local support than progressing to higher leagues.

The club is currently in the Seagrave Haulage League, which is sponsored by businessman Andy Lonsdale, who is coincidentally Feltham's president.

The club was founded in 1946 as Tudor Park, but changed to Feltham FC when granted senior status. They merged with Hounslow in 1990 and briefly competed under the name Feltham and Hounslow Borough.

Before moving to Feltham Arenas in 1963, the club was based at Rectory Park in Hanworth and Glebelands playing fields.

They joined the new Second Division of the Isthmian League in 1977, but regulation changes forced them to transfer to the Combined Counties League in 1995.

The club stayed in the league until 1995, when due to new league rulings about ground gradings were forced to resign and join the Combined Counties League.

January 24, 2003 11:00