A HAMPSHIRE football club is considering selling its ground to make way for housing.
Brockenhurst FC has played in the centre of the village at Grigg Lane for decades and the prime site would be a developer's dream.
Council chiefs have confirmed the 105-year-old club has approached them to discuss the potential relocation that would net them millions of pounds.
The club, which plays in the Sydenhams Wessex League, is discussing the possibility of moving to a field behind St Nicholas Church in Mill Lane and had been negotiating with the landowner. The field used to be home to the football club many years ago.
Nina Ball, chairman of Brockenhurst Parish Council, told the Daily Echo: "At the end of the day the aim is to redevelop the Grigg Lane site with houses but there is nothing official yet."
She warned that any decision to sell the ground would spark outrage among village residents.
She said: "There would be uproar from the community. I think this would involve the parish council having to hold a public meeting. People would be against losing the open space in the centre of the village and any redevelopment at the back of the very pretty little church. It just wouldn't fit in with the environment there."
Cyril Otter, 83, is devastated that a question mark is hanging over the home of his beloved club.
The lifetime member and club vice-president said: "The club is my life and it is my view that the ground should never be sold. I don't want the ground to be moved and I would say that 75 to 90 per cent of the village are against it.
"When the ground was purchased in 1951 there was a trust that no buildings should go on it and that it wouldn't be sold for 100 years."
Mr Otter, who was awarded a gold medal for 50 years service to the club by the FA, has requested that club bosses hold a meeting to discuss the situation.
Bill Walsh, owner of Brockenhurst-based estate agents Walsh and Co, confirmed the value of the site. He said: "It could potentially be worth between £4m and £5m. There are caveats on this though, so it's on the presumption that planners grant planning permission over the whole site."
Mr Walsh estimated that 50 small houses could potentially fit on the football ground.
"It's a developer's dream for the kind of houses that will go on the site, which will be houses at the cheaper end of the market - but cheap in Brockenhurst is £300,000!"
Rumours of a potential relocation have been flying around the village for months, although no planning applications have been submitted. The football club chairman confirmed that the idea has been discussed but said that any potential move is in its very early stages.
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