A disagreement has broken out over a lit footpath being created on the land between the Chippenham Town Football Club car park and the astro turf.

Dog walker Robert Giles, 62, of Yewstock Crescent West, says that the development will ruin the rural feel of the area, known as the donkey fields.

He describes the three-metre wide Tarmac path as overkill, and says the lights are a waste of money.

“School children do not use this path after a certain time because the gates are locked, and people using the astro turf have their own lights,” he said. “I am not against improvements to the path, but I just think this is a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

But sportspeople say that the benefits of a well-lit path outweigh the negative impact on the environment.

Simon Moore, 33, of Rowden Road, plays football on the astro turf twice a week and says a well-lit path has been long needed.

He said: “It is a brilliant idea and should have been done a long time ago. People might be unhappy about it ruining the countryside, but it is just a tiny bit of land.

“Everyone who uses the astro turf is going to be over the moon with it.”

He said that dark winter nights make the walk from the astro turf to Bristol Road difficult. In the winter, play may go on until 9.30pm by which time it is dark.

Wiltshire Council, which is spending £88,000 on the path, said it has been overwhelmed with support for the path. It says the old one was not fit for purpose.