A PREMIER Okehampton sports club says the future of its youth teams is under threat, after the local planning authority ordered the club to stop using its current training facilities.

Around 250 youngsters registered at Okehampton Rugby Club have trained on land in Brightley for the past three years. West Devon Borough Council's decision leaves the youth teams with nowhere to train, and could lead to the junior teams being disbanded.

The club had applied for retrospective permission for a hardstanding parking area, to change the use of land to a rugby training ground, erection of a changing room building and use of portable floodlights. The club intended to continue to use the site at Brightley temporarily, while continuing its search for a permanent site. But the application has been refused.

The council's case officer stated:?'Although no major alterations are proposed to the landscape features surrounding the site, this proposal would prevent the preservation of the character of this very quiet and undeveloped rural location.'

The officer said wildlife would be disturbed by the noise, vehicles and lights associated with club use. The continued quiet enjoyment of the area should be protected for the public, the officer stated.

'The proposal, by reason of its associated lighting, disturbance and the location of the proposed hard surfacing and structures, is considered to have an unacceptable detrimental effect upon protected species and biodiversity. It has not been adequately demonstrated that such effects could be mitigated for satisfactorily.'

Club chairman Robert Barkwell said: 'I don't think anyone at West Devon Borough Council realises the serious implications this decision will have on the club.

'We feel the application didn't get a fair chance. We feel there was no sympathy, no empathy from planners. It is not as if we are private developers, or an individual trying to make a quick buck.

'We want to provide better facilities for local youngsters and benefit the town. If we get thrown off the site, we will have nowhere to train. If that is the case, I will probably have to go through the sad duty of ringing over 200 parents to let them know the junior rugby is cancelled.

'The club is for the benefit of the town and gives hundreds of youngsters here something productive to do, and it would be sad news indeed if we had to stop that.'

During the planning process, the club, which is run by volunteers who help to fundraise, spent around £1,500 on planning surveys, including an ecological survey.

Chairman of the pitches sub-committee, John Shields, said: 'There is much mention of bats and ecology in the report, and none of the importance of giving people the opportunity to participate in regular sport.

'It seems a shame the planning department cannot guide clubs like ours through the planning system before we have invested over £1,000 on fees and an ecology survey, only to be turned down.

'With the population of the town growing year on year, it is clear that the pressure on clubs like ours to find adequate facilities is ever increasing and we need all the help we can get.'

A spokesman for West Devon Borough Council said: 'The borough council is concerned that the Okehampton Rugby Club has a ground for their junior team. However the site at Brightley was entirely unsuitable for sporting use on a permanent or a temporary basis.

'The site is in a poor location due to the lack of public transport links and substandard access. It is an extremely sensitive area because of the protected bat species in the immediate vicinity. The council also received concerned letters from local residents.

'The application was made retrospectively — we understand that training had already taken place on this site for some considerable time without planning permission.

'The borough council is committed to working with the Okehampton Rugby Club to find a suitable temporary solution in the short term.

'In the longer term we are investigating whether a permanent site can be provided as part of the future plans for the town.'