PARISH Councillors at Hinton-on-the-Green and Aston Somerville have pledged to continue the fight to block plans by Evesham United to relocate in Cheltenham Road.

The site, apart from the entrance. is in Hinton parish, and the council unanimously decided to tell Wychavon District Council that on one of the main approaches to Evesham, the site would be an eyesore.

They also said it was wrong to use a greenfield site, it was too close to houses in Cheltenham Road and it would create traffic problems.

The council is to write to the Trustees of the Laslett Hinton Estate, owners of the land, pointing out that if they do a deal with Evesham United over the land they will be going against the wishes of the village and asking them to reconsider.

Evesham town councillors came under fire from the parish council. Councillor Ashley Evans said: "Evesham town council does not want the football club in its own back yard and so is trying to push it off on to us. It is not right when there is a perfectly good site near the centre of the town."

He said it was claimed that the Common Road site suffered from flooding problems, yet at the same time it seemed to be perfectly all right for housing.

Council chairman Councillor Tony Patterson said: "There is very strong feeling here against the proposed move which will be a gross infringement on to open space. All the arguments we used when the application for change of use was made still stand and we shall be resubmitting those."

He added: "We believe we have strong planning grounds for the scheme to be rejected."

The plans are likely to be considered by Wychavon in September.