Councillors unanimously approved funding towards a new artificial grass football pitch at Halstead Leisure Centre
Councillors unanimously approved funding towards a new artificial grass football pitch at Halstead Leisure Centre, managed by Fusion Lifestyle, in a Cabinet meeting last night (8th February 2021).
Braintree District Council made an application to the Football Foundation to provide the majority funding for a new artificial grass football pitch facility that will serve Halstead and its surrounding villages.
The total cost of the project is £751,600 and as part of the grant conditions, the Football Foundation require the Council to contribute 30% towards the total cost. The Council’s funding will be sourced from Section 106 contributions together with a capital contribution of £45,000.
Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Peter Tattersley, said: “This is part of the council’s ongoing commitment to providing and maintaining sporting facilities across the district and is great news for the residents of Halstead. This investment in outdoor sports facilities will help promote physical exercise and football development in the community.”
Carl Pearse, Chairman of Halstead Town Youth Football Club, said: “Halstead Town Youth for many years has always struggled to accommodate their teams with pitches of a good standard, the proposed new 3G pitch will give the club the opportunity to play on a state of the art pitch. This will help the club to develop the players and will also relieve the problem of lack of pitches in the area. We are currently using 5 different venues some of which are not in Halstead, the new 3G will allow the club to play all its matches in Halstead. The club currently has over 300 youth players as well as 4 senior teams and 1 ladies team so this facility is welcomed and very much needed.”
Fusion’s Director of Operations, Anthony Cawley, added: “We are delighted that funding for the new 3G pitch has been approved. At Fusion we are passionate about meeting community needs, ensuring as many people as possible have access to health, fitness and sports facilities. This new pitch will allow us to offer even more options to local residents at a time when it is more important than ever to keep active and well.”
Works are expected to begin on site from the 22nd February 2021.