the council took pity on the ath when the county fire service took over the site and the club were offered the lease on the land that it now occupies. this is green belt land adjacent to the town boundary. the ath's nearest neighbours lived in a pair of cottages opposite where the bluebell pub now stands. undeterred by the fact that it was over a half a mile down a track with no services, club members set to and levelled, drained and seeded the pitches and like the 1930s members overcame all obstacles and eventually built the clubhouse seen today.