Poole Town’s hopes of a new ground at Bearwood hang in the balance after council officers recommended the £2m plans be rejected.

The club’s desired site – near Canford Park Arena – is crucial to Poole’s future economic prosperity and should be retained for employment development, states the officer’s report.

Councillors on the planning committee will consider the report next week and decide whether to overturn the recommendation and grant the football club’s application.

If they do, it would end the Dolphins’ 17-year hunt for a permanent home in the borough.

The council report said: “The suggested benefits of providing additional sports facilities are not sufficiently significant or beneficial to the wider community to set aside the importance of the site in delivering economic growth in the borough.”

The new facility at Bearwood is seen as pivotal in Poole Town’s ambitions of climbing the non-league football ladder.

However, they did receive good news regarding their current ground at Tatnam Farm this week.

The FA approved the improvements made at Tatnam, enabling the Dolphins to apply for promotion to the Southern League.

But the club’s ultimate goal remains finding their own permanent facility and they are remaining positive ahead of next week’s Bearwood hearing.

Poole Town vice-chairman Chris Reeves said there were many positives in the council report and that there was plenty of scope to grant the application.

“We are one of the biggest football clubs on the south coast, with more than 30 teams below the senior side, so the extent to which we reach out into the community is huge,” he said.

Despite the council recommendation, the scheme has been extremely well received.

Almost 400 letters of support have been lodged by residents and interested parties, including Sport England and the FA.

The Bearwood plans will be heard at the planning meeting at the Hamworthy Club, Canford Magna, on Thursday.