And King Edward VI School could also become the base of Morpeth Sporting Club junior footballers, with work under way to improve the drainage of its grass pitches.

The original plan was to replace the ageing athletics facilities at Craik Park with a six-lane synthetic track, including an eight-lane 100m straight, as well as refurbish Morpeth Town Football Club's ground and upgrade surrounding facilities for junior teams.

But it stalled when management arrangements could not be agreed, so the Harriers and Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure (BVAL), appointed by Northumberland County Council to manage the project, approached the school.

KEVI Head Teacher Simon Taylor said: "It's a potentially exciting development that would benefit both the community and the school, and it's worth noting that there's an overlap as many of our students are Harriers runners and/or members of Morpeth's junior football teams.

"We have lots of space and lovely grounds so a 400m running track would clearly be a great addition.

"We have already allocated money to improve the drainage of our pitches because the rainfall during last year's floods meant some of them were unusable for a long time.

"This can tie in nicely with the football side of the project and having these new and better facilities would benefit all our sports teams."

Funding of £300,000 is in place from the county council, which was awarded by the former Castle Morpeth Council, and Sport England has earmarked the same amount for the athletics aspect.

Now the body has been asked to approve the change of venue.

At a meeting of the council's Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee, BVAL Chief Executive Bruce Ledger said: "Sport England will hold a meeting to decide this, but unofficially I have been told that it wants to find a solution for the project as long as the alternative location meets its criteria.

"There is enough space at King Edward VI School and it will be able to meet Morpeth Harriers' immediate needs and aspirations."

Harriers' Secretary Mike Bateman believes the school can meet its requirements and provide storage for equipment.

Committee Chairman Glen Sanderson said it is also important to sort out the future of Craik Park and he asked for regular updates.

Executive Member for Culture Isobel Hunter said the legal department is in discussions about the lease with Morpeth Town.