TOP footballers from the Malvern area could have the use of state-of-the-art facilities after Malvern Town Football Club this week struck a deal with developers for its Langland home.

The club exchanged contracts with housebuilder Barratt on Wednesday (December 19) after ten months of detailed negotiation.

But the club's general manager, Richard Anson, emphasised it will have to find a new home before the present ground is given over to housing.

"It might never happen," he said.

"We don't have to move and we would never sell the ground to anybody unless we have somewhere to go.

"But we are outgrowing our present site and we need more training facilities. Our pitches already have no grass on them and it's only December.

"We play at least two games a week on each pitch, and we have representative sides and local leagues asking if they can use it for finals.

"We want to provide more facilities for youngsters, and also for women's football in future."

He said that the Dr Marten's Western League, which feeds the Nationwide Conference, was a realistic target for the club but only if young talent at the club was carefully nurtured.

The club has recently expanded its youth policy to incorporate Malvern Wanderers, now Malvern Town Wanderers, and provides football at every level from six-year-olds' mini-soccer to the Express and Star Premier League.

The success of its youth system is characterised by 16-year-old Lee Hooper, who has worked his way up into the first team and is being watched by Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

Mr Anson revealed that talks are taking place with a local landowner over a new site. He refused to say where it is but did say the club would try to stay as close to its current home as possible.

To satisfy regulations governing the Doctor Marten's League the new ground must have a stand seating at least 250 people.

Seven acres of land would be needed for the new ground, to include a social club, more training pitches, changing rooms and physiotherapists' facilities.

But the plan to build houses on the site of the Langland Stadium has met with hostility from local residents.

Langland councillor Pat Mewton, secretary of the Elgar Housing Residents' Association, pledged it would "fight it all the way".

He said the area lacked the schools, road infrastructure, medical facilities or open space to support a new housing development.

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