HOPES that a vacant former health clinic near Pinkie playing fields in Musselburgh could be used as a clubhouse by Musselburgh Windsor have been dashed.

Scott Robertson, the football club’s former president, said this was no longer an option as he had heard East Lothian Council planned to demolish the building – formerly occupied by the NHS until four years ago.

But he revealed that the club, which caters for just under 400 children and young people, has now appointed an architect to draw up plans for a new, purpose-built clubhouse with parking in a wooded area backing on to Ashgrove. The site used to be a children’s playpark.

Musselburgh Windsor, established in 1953, is one of the oldest youth football clubs in Scotland.

Mr Robertson said: “I have wasted seven years looking at the former clinic. The council has turned round and said this building is not an option now.

“I’ve been plugging away at this building because it is doing nothing and I thought it would be ideal for a clubhouse.

“It’s quite frustrating. There is no place to run this club – we are running it from people’s houses.”

He said that the club could not access the changing and toilet facilities at nearby Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School until 6pm, adding: “We have no access for the seven weeks of the summer holidays, no access for the two or three weeks at Christmas, and no access at Easter.”

He said that the club had no access unless it booked the school and paid enjoyleisure, a charitable trust which runs local sports facilities on behalf of the council.

He said: “It costs us around £30,000 annually to hire facilities. If there are no pitch bookings on a Saturday or Sunday, we can’t get in the school and that’s where the only toilets are.”

Mr Robertson stressed that it was was likely that the club would continue to grow with the large influx of new housing which was planned in the Musselburgh area.

He said a new £586,000 facility was provided by the council at Olive Bank stadium – the home of Musselburgh Athletic FC – offering a clubroom, meeting room, changing rooms, office, kitchen, space for referees, first aid and physiotherapists. And he said that Longniddry Villa FC received £647,000 from the council for changing rooms and a pavilion.

“We have been here longer and bigger, and have nothing,” Mr Robertson said.

“We need a place to take young players in and explain the rules of football to them, and somewhere we can talk to parents about Positive Coaching Scotland and to do the PVG checks.

“You need a facility to do that – not one which is costing you £10 a hour.”

Mr Robertson said a new two-storey clubhouse could be let to community groups and used for functions.

“We want the land, we want the planning permission and we will go and look at getting the funding and putting it out to tender, not the council,” he said.

A council spokeswoman said: “The council and area partnership are working with Musselburgh Windsor on options for a new clubroom and changing facilities. The former Pinkie Clinic was not being considered as part of this.”

When asked if there were plans to demolish the clinic and what the future of the site might be, she said: “It’s too early to say.”

SNP ward councillors Stuart Currie and John Williamson have launched an online petition to campaign for the club to have a new club pavilion built at Pinkie. The proposal to build a £750,000 pavilion will now be in the party manifesto for the East Lothian Council elections on May 4.

Mr Currie said: “For many years, Musselburgh Windsor seems to have missed out as other clubs have had new facilities. It just seems so unfair not to support this club in the same way.”

Mr Williamson added: “We both feel that it is about time that the Windsor had the same opportunities as everyone else, so in addition to a club pavilion we are also proposing a huge reduction in what they pay to use the pitches. For a community club to be paying almost £30,000 a year to use facilities funded by public money is a disgrace.”

The petition is at: change.org/p/east-lothian-council-support-our-campaign-to-build-a-club-pavilion-for-musselburgh-windsor-football-club