RUDHEATH Social Football Club is moving to Lostock Gralam because of an 88 per cent hike in hire costs.

The club has played home matches at Griffiths Park at Rudheath since 2013, and has paid £200 a year to use the pitch.

However it looks to have played its last game at Rudheath after an increase in the cost to £375.

Club treasurer Mike Alcock said: “We don’t want to move, but feel this is a choice we have to make.

“The rent has almost doubled, and we don’t feel it represents value for money. We didn’t know it was coming either, because there was no consultation.

“It’s expensive to run a club at the level we play at, and we already spend a four-figure sum every year on materials that help us maintain the pitch.

“I’m there most days during the season tidying up or cutting the grass, and have lost count of the number of times I’ve had to pick up dog mess.

“It was a proud moment for us to bring the team back to the village, to finally play home games here.

“It’s a real shame that we can’t continue to do that. I know it was something that made a difference, because we’ve had more people coming to watch the team play.

“We won’t give up hope of coming back, but for now we’re grateful to Lostock Gralam for agreeing to accommodate us.”

Rudheath Parish Council is responsible for maintaining and managing the pitch.

Council chairman Alison Gerrard said she and Cllr Andy Hancock met with Cllr Alcock, a member of Rudheath Parish Council, and club secretary Ken Stevenson, to present the contract for the coming season, which included the new hire figure of £375.

She added that Cllr Alcock had been present at a meeting of the council’s playing fields committee in November, at which the new figure was referred to.

“It had been £200 for quite some time, and after looking at what we charge we realised it was way behind what other pitches charge in the Northwich area,” she said.

“The new figure is still reasonable considering what other places are charging, and there are things we want to do to improve the facilities.”

The football pitch is a public open space, she said, and the council had installed signs to ask people to keep their dogs to the perimeter of the field.

The parish council had bought dog bins, she added, which were emptied regularly, and the council had tried to do everything it could to address dog fouling.

The council was disappointed the club was moving, she said, and there were other teams which were interested in using the pitch.