FEARS about the future of a youth club which has been in Winnington for almost a century have been raised by Northwich Town Council.

The council has added its voice to the committee of Winnington Youth Club, which has just been given a new lease from NPL Estates, owner of the land off Winnington Avenue.

The company sent a one-year lease for the Jubilee Field, where there are three football pitches, which contains a clause saying the landlord has the option to terminate the lease at any time giving not less than four weeks' prior notice.

But town councillors, who rent out the pitches, need them for a whole football season and if NPL chooses to terminate the lease with just four weeks' notice, the teams will be left with nowhere to go.

Clr Robinson said: "We need to know what the cost will be.

"That they would give us such short notice is incredible."

Clr Norman Wright said: "We need to enter into a contract. It is going to have to be more than one year."

In a previous statement, NPL Estates said this was the lease it usually gave out to companies.

A spokesman said: "Winnington Properties inherited the lease for the playing fields when it acquired the land from ICI.

"That lease has now expired.

"Winnington Properties has offered the standard lease terms which apply to all of its land holdings and is more than happy to engage in detailed discussions in this respect."

Northwich Town Council's chief executive Steve Sharman is to contact the company voicing the council's concerns.