SHOLING have turned to Eastleigh MP Mike Thornton in a bid to cut through the red tape that is putting their planned ground development at risk.

The Southern One South & West club have been “jumping through hoops” for two years now to secure funding for a near £1.1million upgrade of their VT Sports Ground home in Portsmouth Road.

That funding is now in place but the latest stumbling block is that the money is subject to 20 per cent VAT which, Sholing argue, should not be applicable to a non-profit making community scheme.

Dave Bennett, trustee and company secretary of VT Sports Limited, said: “Whilst they say you can pay the VAT and then claim it back, that could take at least two years.

“The wait would be too long and it would put additional financial stresses on a club with new facilties.

“It would be ludicrous to overstretch ourselves like that, put things at risk and end up with nothing. You don’t go shopping in Tesco’s without money in your purse and we won’t commit to spending until we can see a clear light at the end of the tunnel.

“If we borrowed the money, the Charity Bank would be the only ones who’d help us, but the interest rate would probably be 10 per cent because of the risks involved.

“We’ve decided to put pressure on the local MP to get the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) to look at the rules and say this is a community project and no VAT is applicable.”

Sholing would ideally like to get work on the new clubhouse started at the end of this month.

The timber frame would be built in a factory and the whole construction would be up in three months.

A 3G pitch and car park is also included in the planned facelift for the ground which, along with sport, would be available for community use.

But until VT Sports Limited obtain a VAT Exemption Certificate, they cannot give the contractors the go-ahead to start work.

“Going to the MP is the last resort,” said Bennett. “We need to have an answer soon because the grants will run out.

“We’ve already extended them three times and I don’t think we’ll get a fourth extension.

“We’ve got a lot of youth teams at Sholing and they’ll be the biggest losers if this project doesn’t go ahead,” he warned.

“But it’s not just football, it’s cricket too and we want lots of other things there such as day care for dementia sufferers.

“An enclosed football ground would be perfect for them.”

To add to Sholing’s frustrations, they are literally flushing money down the pan. To comply with ground-grading rules, they have had to install an extra toilet block at the Silverlake Arena – even though no one uses it!

“We were told we’ve got to have separate toilets for people that use the clubhouse,” said Bennett.

“It’s costing us £70 a week, but there are already 11 toilets on the site – one for every ten spectators “It’s a bit of a joke really.

“Incurring costs like that is not helping.”

Sholing team boss/chairman Dave Diaper will miss tomorrow’s league trip to Clevedon Town (2.30pm) to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary.

His right-hand man Stuart Hussey will take charge.