WORRIED residents have staged a protest against plans to move a boys’ football pitch next to their homes.

Homeowners in Park Avenue, near Canvey Island FC’s Park Lane ground, fear parking problems will double if Canvey Island Youth FC are allowed to set up on the green.

The youth club is being forced to move from its current pitch in Haven Road to make way for a new road linking Roscommon Way and Haven Road.

But residents living nearby do not want to see the area fenced off.

Scott Hepworth, 42, of Park Avenue, organised the meeting on Sunday afternoon where around 40 residents discussed their concerns.

He said: “We sympathise fully with the club. We understand they need to be rehomed, but this isn’t a suitable area.

“Saturdays are already disrupted by the adult club and the parking problems that brings. The youth club plays on a Sunday, so this would mean our Sundays would be disrupted too.”

The youth club was first offered an alternative site in Haven Road by landowners National Grid.

But after residents living nearby objected and the Health and Safety Executive raised concerns about the safety of the site, which runs over two major gas pipelines, Castle Point Council offered the use of the land in Park Avenue.

An application for planning permission has not yet been submitted, but talks are ongoing between the two football clubs, Castle Point Council and Essex County Council.