Dudley Council bosses scrap £200 fee rise for football pitch hire

Coaches and players across the borough were angered earlier this year when councillors voted to increase pitch hire costs by up to 40 per cent for the 2015/16 season.

Senior adult teams were set to see fees rise from just over £500 per year to around £710 under the policy which was ratified as part of the authority's annual budget.

But now Dudley Council has revised its charges for pitch hire. The fee for a season's hire is to be set at £518 - a increase of tiny proportions when compared to the initial proposal.

Councillor Patrick Harley helps run High Acres Football Club, which plays in the Dudley and Cradley Heath Football League. He is also the leader of the Conservative opposition on the council.

He said: "Common sense has prevailed. It would have been lunacy and would have put teams out of existence to have had a 40 percent rise in fees.

"I think a two percent rise people can accept. They accept fees will inevitably rise to some extent.

"People will pay more if they have better facilities. The council is right, pitch fees are higher elsewhere, but the quality of the pitches is also much, much better.

"They have neglected the fields here. We are working the dark ages when it comes to sport in Dudley."

Dudley Council is proposing savings of £22.9 million for 2015/16, moving up to £25.3m by 2016/17 and £27.4m by 2017/18.

To meet its targets the council has said on average a minimum increase in fees and charges of two percent is needed for 2015/16.

Consultation has taken place between the council and league representatives and football forums to explore the possibility of maintenance of pitches being transferred to clubs.

Councillor Hilary Bills, who is in charge of leisure services, has previously suggested the league could form a trust to oversee pitch maintenance and seek to bring in greater funding than the council has been able to attract.

She said: "Following consultation with the clubs and organisations who use our pitches we have agreed a two per cent increase in fees in line with inflation and we will continue to talk to the clubs about the future maintenance of the pitches to find the best way of providing value for money for people using them."

Under the revised fees and charges, a season's pitch hire without changing and shower facilities will cost £313. Hiring a pitch for a one-off game will cost £50 or £36 without the extra facilities.

The fees for 2015/16 are set to be rubber-stamped on June 8.