A FOOTBALL club fears for its future if land next to it is allocated for housing.

Harwich and Parkeston Football Club bosses said it would “condemn the club to extinction” if land currently used for its car park is built on.

Tendring Council included the land in its Local Plan, which shows how Dovercourt will accommodate a six per cent rise in housing over the next ten years.

In the document, which is in public consultation until January, land to the west of the football club, in Main Road, Dovercourt, is one of five sites to boost housing numbers by 240.

Club chairman Tony Armstrong said the land is used for parking on match days and training, as well as for social club guests attending functions seven days a week.

Carlo Guglielmi, Tendring’s planning boss, said: "I urge the football club to make their feelings known to Tendring Council and we will see what the majority of people have said.”