CHIPPENHAM Town chairman Malcolm Lyus believes a new stadium on the outskirts of town represents his best chance of achieving Nationwide Conference football within the next five years.

Lyus and the executive committee will do everything they can to keep the club at Hardenhuish Park, but are now considering leaving the ground which has been their home for 82 years.

The news comes a day after the club announced they had put plans for a new £300,000 clubhouse on the back-burner for at least 12 months.

Lyus confirmed if Chippenham were to win the Dr Martens League Premier Division at their first attempt, they would turn down the chance of promotion to the Conference.

He said: "We couldn't take it. We just haven't got the facility or the funds available at the moment.

"I think you need a 6,000 capacity for a start and we have a capacity of just under 4,000 at Hardenhuish Park."

A ground grading inspection will take place at Hardenhuish in the next few months to determine the work the club would need to carry out to qualify for Conference football.

Said Lyus: "My gut feeling is that a new stadium is the only way we can get there. My only idea for Hardenhuish at the moment would be to turn the pitch round 90 degrees and develop it that way.

"If we go for a new site, it would take three or four years to come to fruition and I've always said I'd like to be in the Conference in five years' time.

"We would probably be looking at a cost of around £4million and it would be purpose-built on the outskirts of town to incorporate the youth and training facilities as well."

And Lyus believes any new stadium must also meet Nationwide League Third Division criteria.

Although a new clubhouse at Hardenhuish Park would have proved popular with Bluebirds' supporters, there were no discontented voices at the club's annual meeting on Wednesday.

Said Lyus: "The meeting was very, very positive. People appreciate the hard work that others are doing behind the scenes."

The club are also experiencing a delay over plans to become a limited company after the FA decided Chippenham's application should become a test case.

Said Lyus: "There is no problem with it, it is just that the FA are using us as a test case. Too many clubs have gone through as a limited company and gone bust. The FA are telling other clubs in our position to get in touch with our secretary Chris Blake for advice and, by mid-September, we should be okay."