A pitch battle has broken out after playing fields in Elgin were concreted over by contractors working on the town’s flood defences scheme.
Community leaders are now demanding Moray Council takes action to make sure local teams can use the ground at Deanshaugh to train and play matches.
The land has been used as a processing site attached to the £86million flood defences project – but an agreement was in place with the local authority that the playing fields would be fully restored after work finishes.
The developer, Dutch engineering firm Royal Haskoning, has now paved over one of the four former football pitches to create a car park and applied to the council for retrospective planning permission.
Residents – who understood changes to the once-popular playing fields would only be temporary – are calling for the local authority to enforce the original agreement.
Plans remain in place to lay three full-size pitches and training grounds at the site
But the chairman of Scottish League Two club Elgin City said that at a time when the town was “desperate” for pitches, not one could be sacrificed.
Graham Tatters added: “Anybody who plays football in Elgin knows how badly we need extra pitches, we’ve lost several in recent years and we are absolutely desperate for facilities.
“A lot of smaller clubs are really struggling to complete fixtures because of this shortage.
“People are crying out for new pitches. We have to send our young kids to play in Aberlour and we are an Elgin club – it’s ludicrous.
“We were depending on Deanshaugh coming through as promised.”
Elgin Community Council members believe the new parking area, at the foot of an access ramp from Newmill Road, is not in the interests of the town.
Chairman, Alistair Kennedy, said: “The fields at Deanshaugh have not been used since 2005 when contamination was discovered at the site, which was formerly a rubbish dump.
“But it was agreed that, at the end of the flood alleviation process, they would be fully reinstated and we were looking forward to the fields returning to use.
“We have spoken to residents in the area and they certainly want to see all the pitches that were there brought back.
“The pitch was well used previously and I’m sure it would be again.
“It’s a big expanse, and we think the best use of the area is to maximise the number of pitches.
“At a time when fitness is such a priority, and with the north of Elgin set to expand in the future, this seems a short-sighted suggestion.
“The car park has just been built very recently, which gives the impression that it’s a done deal, even though developers are yet to receive permission for it.”
Mr Kennedy added: “We have supported the flood alleviation scheme the whole way through, but there has been no engagement with the community about this.
“I suspect the community council will formally object to the application, but at the moment we’re just looking for people’s views.”
Both the community council and Mr Tatters suggested that an area at the opposite end of the site – which was used as a car park before – could be utilised again.
A Moray Council spokesman said: “The lack of formal parking arrangements caused problems at Deanshaugh in previous years, particularly for those living in nearby residential streets, and the provision of off-street parking is an integral part of the overall development.”