RESPONSE to Overton floodlight letter on 19 May (Basingstoke Gazette).

Firstly I would like to go back to 1966 when the unsightly water meadow in front of the church was developed into a first class multi-sport facility (not a village green). This allowed Overton United FC to move from the windy Berrydown site to a pitch more suited to quality football.

Bridge Street has become home for the club and much time and money has been spent to provide a permanent HQ where we can entertain our guests after the game on our superb pitch.

The club has ambitions to improve the overall standard of football both at senior and youth level and floodlights are required to facilitate our desire to run a youth team in a suitable midweek league.

With the floodlight facility we will also be able to play some of our senior fixtures to prevent fixture congestion as we will still be sharing the facility with our cricket colleagues.

If we are successful with our application the ground will still be used for a variety of sports (floodlights exist for tennis) and the popular village events such as the scarecrow festival and sheep fair will still use this wonderful facility.

Finally, without wishing to prolong our case, we will be using a reputable company to ensure that any inconvenience to our fellow ‘Overtonians’ is kept to a minimum.

Adrian Gibbons, Chairman, Overton United Football Club