AN AREA of land in Worle could be sold to a developer so North Somerset Council can pay for new sports facilities for youngsters.

AN AREA of land in Worle could be sold to a developer so North Somerset Council can pay for new sports facilities for youngsters.

At a meeting of all the authority's councillors on Tuesday night it was agreed that officers could enter into negotiations to sell the site off Queens Way to well known local developer Mead Realisations Ltd.

The money raised from the sale of the land, currently leased to Worle Junior Football Club, would help pay for sports facilities like a pavilion and football pitches, on Mead Realisations' land off Ebdon Road in Worle.

The Queens Way land which could be sold was previously earmarked as a potential school site but those plans were dropped and North Somerset Council does not feel it is a good site for new sporting facilities.

Councillor Tony Lake's report said: "Even with capital expenditure the site is not capable of providing a significant increase in the actual amount of pitch provision."

The site off Ebdon Road, which measures just over 15 acres, is owned by Mead Realisations and currently has planning consent for a sports pavilion and sports pitches.

The company has entered into negotiations with Worle Football Cub over granting it a lease to enable it to relocate to the Ebdon Road site.

The club has put together a business plan involving sharing the facility with other groups and although it has been offered about £250,000 from charity Football Foundation, North Somerset Council feels that would need to be doubled in order to allow the plans to go ahead.

Worle Junior Football Club chairman Dennis Cole said at the meeting: "Schools and other clubs would benefit from the facility.

"It is an opportunity for the council to increase the number of football pitches in the area.

"I see no valid reasons against the proposals, only those in favour."

The authority wants to use the capital receipt from selling the land off Queens Way to fund the rest of the work at Ebdon Road, with some more money potentially coming from Mead Realisations.

The developer is willing to enter into agreements to release the Ebdon Road by way of a long lease to the council if the authority agrees to sell the land off Queens Way to it.

Negotiations will now be entered into and the issue will be brought back to North Somerset's full council and executive meetings for further discussion at a later, unconfirmed date.