A JUNIOR football club is facing an uncertain future if ongoing discussions about storing essential equipment are not resolved in the next two weeks.

Officials at Bleak Hill Rovers say the club is in jeopardy due to them not being permitted to store equipment in unused changing rooms on Ecclesfield.

The club, which was founded in 1976, consists of around 450 boys and girls from the age of four upwards, with 28 teams, including boys, girls and mixed sides.

Currently, nets, goalposts and footballs as well as safety ropes, cones and bibs are stored at a private garage around 200 metres from the playing fields but last summer, the club was asked to find alternative arrangements.

The changing rooms and fields at Ecclesfield are leased by St Helens Borough Council to Eccleston and Windle Parish Councils.

Following regular discussions with Eccelston Parish Council, club chairman Cyril Barratt was told that while they wouldn’t be able to use the changing facilities, a storage container would be put on site to allow the club to store all of their equipment.

These assurances have been made over the past few months but with a deadline of the end of June for vacating their current garage storage facilities, Cyril says time is running out.

He said: “It is very clear that despite all the promises the parish council does not support community grassroots football and so, from June 30, there is a good chance that Bleak Hill Rovers will close with 450 youngsters no longer able to play football, thanks to the failed promises of Eccleston Parish Council.

“Communication isn’t great and we are constantly passed back to the borough council but time is limited.

“We were promised a container on the land next to the playing fields but it’s still not arrived, despite the fact that money has been allocated.”

The club’s teams that play on the pitches on a Saturday afternoon, and have done for several years, are also facing uncertainty over the summer with Eccleston Parish Council having informed them that they can no longer pitch two as an adult team has requested to use it.

Cyril said: “We’ve always had pitch one and pitch two until 3pm each Saturday and Sunday and now we’ve been told that we can’t have it on a Saturday.

“We regularly have teams that kick off mid afternoon on a Saturday, so where are they going to play their matches?”

Eccleston Parish Council has been approached for a comment.

In January, when the Star highlighted the club’s concerns, a spokesman for the parish council said they “fully supports the club having storage facilities on Ecclesfield” and the issue was to be discussed at the next parish council meeting.