COUNCILLORS have pledged to do their "upmost" to bring the town's football club back to Basingstoke next season.

During a five-hour long meeting last night, council backed a motion from Cllr Mark Taylor (Lab, Brighton Hill North) calling on the council to stand "100 per cent behind Basingstoke Town Community FC moving back to Basingstoke next season".

It added that council should "expedite the release" of funding to upgrade Winklebury Sports Complex, home of Hampshire FA, getting it up to standard in time for the start of the 2020-21 season. The meeting heard that work is expected to finish during the summer.

However, it looked set that the motion would not pass, after Conservative cabinet members said they agreed with the spirit but couldn't agree with a paragraph binding the council into doing their "everything within their legal powers" to bring the club back to Basingstoke next season.

As Cllr Tristan Robinson (Con, Sherborne St John) said: "If we commit to doing everything possible within the law, when the Camrose planning application goes to committee, this commitment will be used against us by the applicant to say that they don't have to provide a new facility because the council will do so.

"I am clear that Basron should put this right. Basron need to cough up. They need to repair what they have broken. They should put this right through the planning process."

It came after an hour-long public questions session, which saw a number of members of the public ask councillors about the covenant, Winklebury and the Camrose.

It was a literal eleventh-hour effort though that saw the motion gain unanimous support from the 51 councillors present at the time, after Cllr Taylor agreed to a modification from the Conservative administration, instead saying that the council "will do our upmost to try to make this happen".

It came after Cllrs Hayley Eachus (Con, Kempshott) and Elaine Still (Con, Chineham) declared conflicts of interest over the football club with their jobs, as well as Cllr Colin Phllimore (BDI, Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon) who is a board member of the community club.

Cllr Robinson continued: "As councillors, we represent our residents. We want to help where we can. And that's why I'm pleased to support the portfolio holder in her allocation of £150,000 to improve facilities at Hants FA in Winklebury, which can help a range of sports teams across the borough, including Basingstoke Town Community Football Club, to play at home again in Basingstoke.

"We should not be, as a council, asking our residents to subsidise the vandalism of the Camrose by a private company."

Cllr Rebecca Bean (Con, Hatch Warren and Beggarwood) added that a like-for-like, grade C facility (the same standard as the Camrose) can be funded by section 106 mitigation should the club's former stadium have planning permission granted.

This would see Basron fund a stadium on an alternative site.

As previously reported, Basron are planning to build 88 flats, a care home and an additional apartment block on the site of the former car park, as well as the club house. Hampshire County Council are also planning to build a link road through the site, from the Western Way roundabout to Winchester Road, helping to ease congestion on Brighton Hill roundabout.

Cllr Bean said: "Council officers, Sport England, and the Football Foundation have been working together to inform the detail of the s106 on the Camrose development to ensure that suitable mitigation is met for the loss of the Camrose facility. As you can appreciate, this has been challenging and it is not in the council's control to expedite the developer's recommendations for re-provision through the LPA process.

"We absolutely understand that football is an important sport and people are passionate about wanting to keep football in the town.

"We must hold the developers to account, Basron and ensure they provide the appropriate mitigation."

Before the motion was changed, other councillors expressed their regret over the wording. Cllr Nick Robinson (Con, Bramley and Sherfield) said: "We could cut our commitment to the ice rink, our commitment to the Anvil. All of that is legally within our power. It is so unfortunate the wording that has been chosen."

In support of the motion, Cllr Tony Jones (Lab, Buckskin), said: "Where we’re coming from the people of Basingstoke, they want their team back. What we should be doing is earmarking where the new ground should be.

"We should be proactive. Other towns seem to do it. I’ve heard you lot saying we’re very good in Basingstoke, surely we could actually take on this guy? We’ve got to be positive, not negative."

Cllr Andy McCormick, Lab, Brighton Hill South) added: "If you vote against it, you’re voting against our football club."