Aldridge football club’s plea to be permanent fixture
The bosses of a football club with more than 200 players are appealing for landowners to make them a permanent fixture at the ground they have made their own.
Red Star AFC has been based on Middlemore Lane, Aldridge, for a decade after moving from Streetly where it spent the first three years of its existence.
It was founded by Steve Bird, aged 52, and has gone from strength to strength ever since now boasting numerous teams.
The club also features a dance studio started by his daughter Jemma, which landed her a spot on series 10 of the Apprentice in 2014.
But Mr Bird said the club is in limbo because landowner The St Francis Group reviews its rent at the end of every season.
And now with plans submitted plans to Walsall Council to redevelop the historic former McKechnie brassworks next door Mr Bird, fears for the future of the club at its current home.
The St Francis Group has applied to demolish the old factory and change the use of the site to include light industrial purposes as well as storage and distribution.
Mr Bird said: “We live in fear of them building on it. They have not been able to give us a longer deal than a season at a time. We have a massive history and we would like to keep it.”
Steve said a longer term lease of the land would help Red Star secure tens of thousands of pounds in FA funding which could be ploughed into redeveloping the clubhouse and installing an all-weather 4G pitch.
He added: “We are very happy with the way everything has been. We don’t want to rock the boat.
“We would like to speak with the St. Francis Group and let them know about the potential for the club in terms of the investment we could get.
“It would be ‘win win’.”
No-one from the St. Francis Group was available for comment.
