The Churchdown Panthers football club is reeling after developers began digging up their cherished sports pitches at the Dowty club in Staverton, leaving the local grassroots sports community in turmoil.
With over 300 children aged 4 to 18 training at the club each week, Panthers’ head coach Max Dawson voiced deep concern: “We’re not against development — we’re pro-community. Hundreds of families benefit from these facilities, and once lost, such spaces with immense community value are rarely replaced.”
Developer Ashville has applied to Tewkesbury Borough Council for permission to convert the 16-acre Dowty Sports & Social site along with an adjoining 32-acre field into a sprawling business park. The ongoing excavation is intended to collect data for Ashville’s planning reports.
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However, the trenches have rendered all but one of the 11 football pitches unusable. Team manager Ian Greaves lamented, “They’ve ruined nearly every pitch and closed down all our training grounds. Even when the trenches are filled, the ground remains uneven and unusable—it effectively shuts down our activities.”
The development plans have ignited widespread objections from sports groups, community organizations, and parish councils, who argue Ashville’s proposals threaten a vital grassroots sports hub, encroach on greenbelt land, and destroy an essential community asset.
Among the opposition are the Cheltenham Youth Football League, which represents 5,000 children, the Stroud & District Football League, Dowty Judo Club, Sport England, Active Gloucestershire, and parish councils across Churchdown, Staverton, Longford, and Down Hatherley.
Ashville, having acquired the Dowty site from aerospace company Safran four years ago, seeks full planning permission for a new 10,000-square-metre warehouse — a project that faces no objections. However, its outline application to demolish the existing Dowty Sports & Social facilities, which include multiple football pitches, tennis courts, clubhouses, meeting rooms, and a judo club, has caused significant distress.
The independent Dowty Sports & Social club serves 500 members and thousands more local users, including Cheltenham Swing Dance, Gloucester Pedigree Whippet Racing Club, Abbeymead Rovers, and the British Slot Car Racing Association.
In its first planning application, Ashville proposed constructing 18 business units on the site, relocating the clubhouse, and offering “upgraded” sports facilities such as a gym, padel court, and tennis courts for community use. Following a flood of objections, a second application offered replacement pitches on the adjacent field.
Despite these assurances, residents remain unconvinced. One objector pointed out the economic strain, stating, “The proposed new Dowty facility is a smokescreen. The club would face commercial rents around £200,000 per year—ten times their current rent of £23,000—which threatens their ability to operate.”
Ashville maintains that the development will address a lack of amenities in the surrounding business area, fostering a healthier and more productive workforce. Their plan includes staff amenities like a gym, dining options, and leisure activities such as a multi-use games area (MUGA) with padel, tennis, football, and basketball facilities.
Nevertheless, the community calls for preserving the Dowty Sports & Social site as a vital grassroots sports venue — a place where young people learn, play, and thrive, contributing to healthier futures.