A YOUTH football club with about 900 members wants to change the days and times it can use its pitches.

Rayleigh Boys and Girls Football Club, one of the largest junior football clubs in the county with around 900 members, can currently only play at its Old London Road home on Sundays and eight Saturdays a year.

The restrictions were put in place when Rochford District Council controversially approved its application to move the previously nomadic club to the site in 2010.

Club officials now want to vary those conditions to allow play all weekend, and also between the hours of 5pm and 8pm on weekdays.

Club chairman Martin Shields said: “We have not played on our pitches since mid-November because they are waterlogged.

“So we are paying rent on our pitches, but also having to hire others at the same time and play catch up because of the missed games.

“We have spent a lot of time and effort in the past five years trying to build good relationships with our neighbours.

“We limit the number of games at any one time so there is not too much traffic, and would continue to do so if we got the extra time.”

Last year, fellow youth club, Academy Soccer, received permission to build its new home on neighbouring land, with permission to play on both Saturday and Sunday.

Rayleigh Boys and Girls objected to that plan, but now it has been approved, wants to be able to play on Saturdays, too.

Mr Shields added: “We understood the objections of the neighbours and when we had restrictions placed on us.

“We don’t have floodlights either, evening games will only be in summer months. It won’t be like we’re building a stadium.”

The club’s initial planning application was rejected three times before finally being accepted in 2010.

Residents of Old London Road and others in Rawreth objected to the plans, and the chairman of the parish council thinks residents will not be happy with the latest application.

Alistir Matthews said: “We have good relations with the Rayleigh Boys and they told us about the plan before submitting it.

“We think this is totally unreasonable, but we understand why they are doing it.

“It is clear to the majority of the residents who are affected that they will have more disturbances.”