Football club in floodlights fight

Bewdley Town Football Club is threatening legal action against Wyre Forest District Council over claims it acted unfairly by ordering them to take down floodlights between games.

They are also considering setting up a fighting fund to pay for the cost of any legal battle and have arranged a meeting to discuss action tomorrow night. Club officials claim it faces thousands of pounds in fines if it fails to take down the six lights after every match under planning rules.

Wyre Forest District Council has threatened enforcement action if it does not obey the ruling.

The club recently lost an appeal to keep the floodlights upright after a decision made by the planning inspectorate in Bristol ruled in favour of the council.

Wyre Forest planners refused permission for the lights to stay up last year because of the claimed impact on the character and landscape of the area.

They ruled they must go down when the pitch was not in use – which the club says means in the off-season when play stops. But councillors claimed the ruling applies to each game.

Meanwhile club officials fear the six floodlights, which are each worth around £200, could be vandalised if laid flat and bosses say they would be forced to build security storage to protect the lights when they are taken down.

They also say it would mean staff spending two hours to lay down the lights after every game – taking them into the early hours of the morning.

Bewdley chairman Geoff Edwards said today: "The original planning approval was ambiguous. We thought it meant that the lights only needed taking down out of season but councillors claim the wording meant after every game."