MINEHEAD town council, owners of the town's football club, made it clear last night it won't consider a new lease for the club until it puts its house in order.

At a hastily-convened extraordinary meeting the council, called in the wake of the dramatic resignation of chairman Bryan Leaker last week, members heard the club had failed to pay rent for the ground for the last three months, and had yet to come up with a business plan charting the way out of its financial predicament.

The council hinted it might be prepared to allow the club to use the pitch and changing facilities, but questions remained over the future of the dilapidated social club, and repairs to floodlights.

While councillors were unanimous in agreeing football must continue at the club, there was support for proposals to turn the social club into a multi-activity centre.

Previous members had agreed a five year lease for the club, but this has not materialised.

Cllr Dudley Seale said while a lot of people had worked hard to keep the club going, more could benefit if the social club was to be used as a multi-purpose sports hall to generate revenue.

Cllr Simon Stokes said: "At the moment the sports teams support the social club, but it should be the other way round."

Mark Keal, football club committee member and manager of the youth team, told councillors: "The social club is a noose around our necks.

"If you offered to take it on we would bite your arm off."

Mr Leaker previously resigned as chairman in December after, he said, the town council failed to back his rescue plan for the debt-ridden club to the hilt.

The club currently has 350 members.

The football club committee is due to meet tonight to discuss the situation, and a further extraordinary meeting of the town council has been called for next Wednesday.

See Thursday's County Gazette for an update on this story.

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