ANOTHER 200 sportsmen and women will be able to use Nailsea School’s outdoor pitch each week if an application to extend the operational hours is approved.

A number of sports clubs and individuals have shown an interest in using the 4G pitch at the Mizzymead Road site but currently have to be turned away as it is already booked for all of its opening hours.

In the application to North Somerset Council, a letter from the school’s operations manager, Chris Perry, says there are currently five clubs hoping to use the pitch during weekday evenings and another three hoping to hire it for longer hours.

The letter also says: “When the facility opened in May 2010 the school took the decision to give as much access as possible to younger people of school age and restrict the time available for adult users.

“Since then there has been increased interest, with approaches from several local senior football clubs for greater access and a request from the local hockey club for additional training time.”

Nailsea School has applied to extend the hours to allow the pitch to be used from 8.30am-9.30pm Mondays to Fridays, instead of the current 8pm restriction. They also want to extend the Sunday and bank holiday hours to allow the pitch to be used between 8.30am-6pm, the same as a Saturday, instead of the current 9am-1.30pm restriction.

If given approval, the changes would also mean the floodlights could be used until 9.30pm Mondays to Fridays and 6pm on Saturdays. They would not be used on Sundays and bank holidays.

However, the application has already attracted objections from some nearby residents, who have raised concerns about the amount of noise generated by those using the pitch and also the light generated by the floodlights.

The proposals are due to be discussed by Nailsea Town Council’s planning and environmental committee tonight (Wed) before they are later decided on by North Somerset Council.