WINSFORD United took one look at Brian Hall's plan for Knights Grange and said: 'Count us in!'

Blues' chairman Mark Loveless believes a marriage between athletics and football would be 'fantastic for the town'.

Hall, a borough and town councillor, is campaigning for a new £500,000 six-lane artificial running track at the complex, together with other facilities and improvements which would bring the total bill to more than £1m.

In the Chronicle last week, he floated the idea of Winsford United joining the development - and United can't wait.

Loveless said: 'It is a great idea, fantastic. I would be all for it.

'Selling the Barton Stadium land would be a way of helping to finance the whole thing.

'Winsford United would be able to develop and progress at last.

'Let's face it, our ground is ramshackle and neither us nor the town council as trustees can afford to do much about it.'

Land at the Barton Stadium is held in trust by Winsford Town Council and United have the right to play there in perpetuity. But it has been at the centre of sporadic disagreements between the two sides.

The council wants United to sign a lease, which would make them landlords rather than trustees. It would make United tenants, a position they say would undermine their position and would, under the terms of the deed, be illegal.

The land can only be used for football, but Loveless points out: 'Covenants can be lifted. If both sides wanted the clause removed to enable something bigger and better to happen, then we could get together and figure out the legalities.

'I have no doubt if Winsford United folded then the council would eventually seek to lift the covenant anyway and sell the land for housing.

'This plan would benefit Knights Grange, Winsford United, the town council, athletics and Vale Royal. It is a marvellous idea and I would love to talk to Brian about it.'

Hall, a 66-year-old former Commonwealth Games steeplechaser, has already won the backing of Vale Royal Athletics Club.

He is dismayed at poor facilities in Mid Cheshire. The shale tracks at Knights Grange and Hartford are too dangerous to hold meetings and the lack of modern facilities is holding athletics back.

VRAC has 300 members and Hall reckons that number would soar to 1,000 if they had a permanent base.

Winsford have a meeting at the Social Club for supporters tonight (7.30pm) when further ideas for fundraising will be explored.

After a season as an amateur side, United believe they need to provide manager Dave Twite with a weekly budget to keep their best players and compete for promotion in the North West Counties Second Division.

Hall plans to attend the meeting and, ironically, when he founded Winsford AC in the 1970s, the Barton Stadium was their first home.

'I feel sorry for the football club. This town should have a thriving team. I don't know what has gone on in the past between the club and town council, but this is a new idea and I have an open mind,' said Hall.

WINSFORD will operate in NWCL Division Two again next season. Any lingering hope they might be included in extended promotion caused by the restructuring of the non-league system was killed off on Sunday with the announcement of the new-look pyramid.

Only four clubs were promoted to the UniBond League and, therefore, four also went up from Division Two. United finished eighth.