Football club given the green light to replace “unsightly” fencing

A Monmouthshire football club has been given the green light to replace “unsightly” fencing around its clubhouse with a wall and railings. 

Caldicot Town AFC submitted its application for the “urgent” replacement of the perimeter fence in October and the plans were approved in December by Monmouthshire County Council’s delegated planning panel. 

The application had to be put before the panel, despite there being no objections, as the county council is the club’s landlord. 

As part of the application the club, which runs teams at various age groups for both sexes, and whose senior men’s side plays in Welsh football’s third tier Ardal South East League, has supplied an artist’s impression of how its clubhouse will look, with the wall in place painted in a broad brush stroke watercolour style. 

In the application club secretary Stephen Bright stated: “The current fencing directly outside of the Jubilee Way Football Clubhouse is very unsightly , very old and needs urgent replacement. Our plan is to replace this existing barb wired fence, with a more modern wall and integrated railings.” 

He added the club also intends to use a skip “with a local recycling company” to collect recyclable waste when the fence is replaced by the wall that will be on the same footprint. 

Labour councillor for Caldicot’s Severn ward, Maria Stevens, said she supported the application. 

“I have no objections to this plan whatsoever,” she said. “The Caldicot AFC is extremely popular with players and families far and wide. Any enhancement on its surroundings would be beneficial to all of the community.” 

The wall, which will be 2.5 metres from the ground at its highest point and finished with brickwork closely matching the clubhouse, is described as “acceptable in principle” by the planning department which also said it will have “no impact” on the neighbouring Caldicot central shopping area. 

There is a public footpath running past the front of the clubhouse but planning officer Ryan Bentley said it isn’t considered the wall will be “overbearing”. 

His report said: “The removal of the existing barbed wire fence is welcomed and the addition of a wall with permeable steel railings is considered to be a betterment at the site.” 

The club submitted plans in November to include pollinator planting which is considered to meet the council’s policy that developments have a net gain for biodiversity.