The chairman of Barnet FC says the club wants to move forward after the withdrawal of a planning enforcement notice at its stadium the Hive.

Harrow Borough Council last week announced it had withdrawn its enforcement notice ordering Barnet FC to pull down a stand and remove floodlights at the stadium in Camrose Avenue.

Barnet FC chairman Tony Kleanthous said: “A lot of money has been wasted on planning consultant specialists and legal advisors in order to resolve an issue that did not seriously affect residents in the way in which it was portrayed.

“The pitches at The Hive are run on a non-profit basis and the local community has had to endure two price rises in order to cover the cost whilst paying further money through their local taxes.

“I now hope we can all put this difficult period behind us and move forward with the fantastic community work we have done within the borough which now encompasses men’s football, women’s football and rugby.”

As a response to the council’s decision, Barnet FC announced it would freeze pitch hire until July 2015.

Last week the council said it been given legal advice that it would be highly unlikely the authority would be successful in the enforcement action at a public inquiry in June this year.

Officers said last week that by withdrawing the enforcement notice the authority was able to focus its attention on the appeal, which will take place later this year.