A FOOTBALL club is match fit again after its future was thrown into doubt with the withdrawal of a mouthwatering grant towards the cost of new facilities.

Southampton's Brendon Football Club missed out on a £230,000 windfall from the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) by the skin of its teeth.

The club had secured a promise of money on condition it spent it by March this year, at the end of a six-year government-funded SRB programme ends.

It could not get to work spending the money. Although planning permission for the work at the ground at Test Lane playing fields, Lower Brownhill Road was granted in October, work was held up by an accompanying legal agreement.

The agreement would have forced the club to make a financial contribution towards road improvements around the site. However, city planners have heeded the club's wishes and lifted the sanction.

Chris Jane, project manager for the club, said: "Lifting the agreement will give us some sort of chance of delivering this project and its opportunities.

"As a voluntary body, we are dependent on grants from external organisations. The club wants to develop sporting opportunities for the Redbridge and Millbrook communities and help people realise their potential."

Councillor Alec Samuels said: "This is an excellent club run by excellent people, but the council is still trying to squeeze every last pound of flesh out of it. We should not be seeking money on this occasion for this purpose."

The £1.5m project - for which some funds have already been secured - includes a new pitch, spectator stands, a multi-use games area and a pavilion. The club, formed in 1966, hopes this will put an end to the years of vandalism it has suffered, including the old clubhouse being broken into and set on fire and repeated graffiti and damage.

The club is to launch a huge fundraising drive, calling on local businesses and residents to support the plans and help raise the £230,000 they had been counting on. The Football Foundation is also expected to dip into its funds.