HORSHAM Football Club have today revealed they are on the brink of securing land for a new home at Hop Oast.

Chairman Kevin Borrett announced in a statement that negotiations to sign an option to purchase the land, part of the Horsham Golf & Fitness complex are at an ‘advanced stage’.

Mr Borrett said: “I am encouraged by the news that HDC’s new Leader, Councillor Ray Dawe, has indicated his backing for the Club’s intention to proceed with plans for a new ground.

“I understand that Cllr Dawe has been brought up to date with HFC’s plans for both a new ground south of Horsham and for its Holbrook site. I welcome his acknowledgement of the need for Horsham FC to have a permanent home in the town once again, following several years of uncertainty over the future of the Club. We have consulted closely with HDC Officers since our Planning Application at Holbrook was refused in 2008 to reach this point and greatly appreciate their assistance.

“A number of potential sites have been considered, one of which has emerged as the preferred location. It is currently part of the nine-hole Horsham Golf & Fitness pay and play facility at Hop Oast, a reasonable distance from any residential areas, yet is easily accessible by public transport and is served by a main road.

Horsham chief executive John Lines added: “Discussions to provide an option to purchase an area of land within the Golf Complex, subject to planning permission being granted, are at an advanced stage. “This will then be the first truly substantive step in what we believe will be an exciting and positive development not just for the club but for the community as a whole. “

Kevin Borrett continued: “If the planning applications in both North Horsham and Hop Oast are approved, we will be providing additional sporting facilities at Hop Oast. These will not simply be a place for Horsham FC first and youth teams to play their matches, but will also offer the opportunity for us to develop and grow a wide ranging community facility for properly organised Community Youth Football. This means girls as well as boys being able to make use of modern first class playing facilities. We have designed these facilities with a view to providing a 6th Form NVQ Academy of Football Excellence that will be something that both the town, its surrounding villages and the District can be proud of.

“There is still a long way to go before the full Planning Applications can be submitted and despite the desire to have our own home rather than ground-share as at present, we will not be rushed into taking any short cuts. This has to be right both for Horsham FC and for the town as a whole. An integral part of these plans is securing the long-term and sustainable future of The Holbrook Club on the remainder of the existing site that the club owns in North Horsham for which heads of terms on a new long lease have now been agreed.”

Commenting on the club statement, Ray Dawe, Leader of the Council said: “Since 2008 we have been in discussion with HFC to help them find a new suitable permanent home. The proposed package of development involving a new ground at Hop Oast and new homes on part of the Holbrook site, plus reinvestment in the Holbrook Club, has much to commend it. 

Once planning applications are received, the details will be carefully evaluated by planning officers so that the impacts of the development in both locations can be fully understood. There will be widespread consultation with the two parish councils, local residents and external advisers such as the County Council and the Environment agency. 

In due course reports will be submitted to the council’s planning committee which will make the final decisions.”

And Simon Charman, chairman of the Holbrook Club, which is owned by Horsham FC, added: “The Holbrook Club and HFC have been consulting for many months now, and have finally agreed the heads of terms for a new long term agreement for lease, pending planning permission. There are obviously still details to confirm, but an agreement looks promising. With support from HDC and HFC we hope to secure significant funding for investment in the Holbrook site.”

Full report, reaction and analysis in tomorrow’s West Sussex County Times.

HORSHAM RFC saw their four-game winning run come to an end with a 30-10 defeat to league leaders Crowborough.

With Horsham also set to play Crows in the Sussex Cup, the game was turned into a league and cup double because of the disruption from the freezing conditions, making it doubly disappointing to lose.

The game was much more of a contest then the final score suggests, swelled by a try in the first minute and two late scores as hosts Horsham finished the game with 14 men.

Both Matt Stone and James Whiting were yellow carded at the end of the match in separate incidents which left the green and whites a man down for the last 20 minutes. And with Crows talented No. 7 avoiding any punishment for an apparent spear tackle on Sam Bell early in the match, coach Nick Stocker was unimpressed with the man in the middle.

He said: ““The referee was poor all game, he struggled to keep up with play and was a little out of his depth.”

Still Stocker was pleased with the performance of his players against a side tipped for promotion.

He said: “The game was massively closer then the score suggests. With it being a double header it was a chance to put one over the promotion favourites and book ourselves a Sussex Cup final but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

“They are a very good side, very strong in most departments, however we felt we matched them in almost every area, and just a lack of concentration at the start and end of the game cost us.”

Matt Brown scored all of Horsham’s points, scoring and converting a try and slotting over a penalty as Horsham stayed in touch with their visitors until their late flurry.

HUGO Langton is looking to add both an attacking player and a defender to his Horsham squad this week and says he faces some tough decisions on some members of his current squad as he looks to freshen things up.

The Hornets boss has been left extremely disappointed by the manner of their 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Hastings on Saturday, when they saw an early lead overturned and then failed to mount much of a second half fight-back.

“I’ve got one or two things ongoing,” Langton said. “I’ve made a enquiry to bring in an attacking player on loan from a Blue Square South side. He’s not getting into this particular side at the moment, but the whole thing is dependent on whether they can bring in players as well, so I should know more in the week.

“I’m also trying to bring in a another defender this week, and I’ve got one or two options at the moment. I’ve not spoken to the player I have in mind yet, but if I can get him in he’ll bring good experience to us.

“Failing that I’ve got a plan B. I have invited two players to come and train with us on Thursday, both defenders who have trained with Notts County and Stoke City, both around 18 years old, so there will be new additions to the squad this week.

“I want to bring in a couple of new faces to freshen things up, particularly to strengthen us defensively.”

Langton is already looking ahead to next season with his side cut adrift at the foot of the Ryman Premier table and needing something akin to a miracle to avoid relegation.

And he now faces some tough decisions between now and the rest of the campaign as to which of his current squad he wants to keep on.

He said: “I’m very loyal to my players, but at the same time I have to be targeting next season, whatever league we’re playing in.

“I’m starting to think ahead and this particular group of players, if they get the chance, have a lot to prove for the rest of the season. I think some have been found out, some maybe are going through the motions and not listening to instructions, so I have to decide either to make a decision now or stick with them for the last 13 games of the season.

“All I am going to say is we are going to Met Police on Saturday to work hard and go on the attack, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on this week.”

Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers are eyeing up Brighton’s Gustavo Poyet as a potential replacement for recently sacked Mick McCarthy.

The Black Country outfit had interviewed Alan Curbishley, Neil Warnock and Steve Bruce but were left having to widen their search after all three turned their backs on the job.

Reading’s Brian McDermott is also believed to also be on the Molineux club’s shortlist and is considered a more likely option than Poyet because of his greater experience in the second flight.

Poyet has previously said he would remain loyal to the Albion unless faced with an offer he considered too good to turn down.

However, with a relative inexperience in management and a CV which currently boasts a single promotion from League One, the popular boss is unlikely to be in the running for more high profile vacancies in the near future.

Online bookies SkyBet currently have Poyet as joint second favourite at 5/2 with McDermott at 9/4.

Sussex County Cricket Club have announced that they will be returning to Dubai in March as part of their pre-season preparations.

It is with thanks to the Crimson Hotel Group and Sport Arabia Ltd that Sussex are able to make another trip abroad following the Caribbean T20 last month and the club are grateful of their support and the continued partnership between themselves and the club.

The squad will fly out to the UAE on Tuesday 20th March and will play initially in the Emirates Airlines Twenty20 2012 Tournament, alongside Durham Dynamos, Lancashire Lightning and an MCC XI, featuring Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, with the matches taking place at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

The tour’s primary objective though will be preparing the squad for four-day cricket with a program of practise sessions planned, culminating in a two-day game against Durham, as they look towards their season opener against Surrey at the Kia Oval, which begins on Thursday 5th April.

Sussex’s Professional Cricket Manager Mark Robinson said, “Guaranteeing being able to play on good wickets against good opposition in good weather is a key commodity in pre-season, and we’re grateful to our sponsors for not making us rely on the unpredictable English weather during this vital time.”

Sussex supporters can win a trip for two to Dubai to watch the Emirates Airline Twenty20 by visiting the Sport Arabia Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sportarabia

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FRANCIS Maude confirmed he had been following ‘with interest’ the very public debate on the fate of Broadbridge Heath leisure centre over the past three months.

However, he did apologise for writing a column published in the County Times during this period which focused on the nation’s 2012 Olympic legacy.

At the time he was accused by readers campaigning to save the leisure centre of being insensitive. Could he understand that?

“Yes I can see that, and I put my hand up and plead guilty to that,” he said. “I hadn’t made the connection when I wrote the piece abut the Olympic legacy.”

Mr Maude continued: “I think the sporting legacy we want is actually less about sporting facilities, which actually Horsham is pretty rich in. There’s no shortage of very well used sporting facilities.

“The legacy one’s really after here is more people taking part in sport and that’s one of the things I’m working with Jeremy Hunt on.”

But participation would surely be affected by the closure of the district’s leading athletics facility, home to many other clubs and societies. Did he agree the Olympic legacy is at risk locally if plans to decommission and demolish Broadbridge Heath leisure centre are fulfilled?

“I don’t think it’s at risk,” he said, “but there does need to be proper provision for people who do athletics.”

Mr Maude reiterated that the decision is ‘classicly something for the local council’ though.

He said his Government ‘fiercely believes in localism’ and it is Horsham District Council that is accountable to its electorate on this issue. “They’ve got to make those decisions in a considered way,” he said.

But what warrants a considered way? Revelations from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests this week demonstrate that HDC possesses no formal written records on the controversial Leisure Future’s Study published last November that paved the way for the centre’s potential demolition (see page 7 Horsham edition).

HDC has confirmed the consultant was only given a verbal brief, and ‘no central file is maintained’ on the study. There is no written brief to confirm the consultant’s directions.

Was Mr Maude surprised by this? “I haven’t seen that detail, so I can’t really comment, but it does seem surprising,” he confirmed.

We asked Mr Maude hypothetically, that if a local authority commissions a study, the outcome of which significantly alters community provision, whilst at the same time that authority is saving money and generating significant funds, should formal records of that process be maintained in the public interest?

“It’s surprising if there were no records at all,” said Mr Maude, “but beyond that it is hard for me to comment.”

See page 7, Horsham edition

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