Home win for young footballers
Nov 5 2007 by Ben Guy, The Journal
JUNIOR players at a Northumberland town’s football club are close to seeing the dream of having their own pitches and training area become reality.
Because of a shortage of pitches in the Hexham, youngsters at the town’s football club have faced an increasing battle to find spaces to play matches and hone their skills in recent seasons.
But now the club has been given £222,000 by Tynedale Council to help fund a new development that will provide two pitches and a training area at the Dukeshouse Wood site in the town.
Secretary of the club Doug Robson said: “It is absolutely fantastic news and it is a vital facility.
“If we hadn’t got this it wouldn’t have been the death of football in Hexham, but it would have stifled it.
“We are desperate for junior facilities in the town. We have gone from having two to three teams to having 16 teams so we have had to beg, steal and borrow places for the teams to play.”
In some cases the sides have had to play home fixtures at pitches outside Hexham, but the new facilities will offer the club a permanent base.
The senior side will continue to train and play at the Wentworth Centre, with the quality of that single pitch set to improve as fewer games and training sessions will be held on it.
The new pitches and the floodlit training area will be for players aged between eight and 16, and could be in place for the 2009 season.
In total, the project will cost about £720,000, with funding also coming from the Football Foundation and the club itself, which is close to achieving a £20,000 fund-raising target.
Coun Fiona Hunter, portfolio holder for tourism, leisure and culture said: “I am delighted that Tynedale Council has been so successful in developing this project at Dukeshouse Wood to provide such a valuable and much needed football facility, in partnership with Leisure Tynedale, Hexham Junior Football Club and other community organisations.
“Now the juniors will have two dedicated pitches plus a floodlit practice area and changing facilities.
“There are ever increasing numbers of girls and boys teams of all junior ages waiting to play football in this area and we hope this new provision will help meet this demand.”
The site is part of a regeneration scheme of Dukeshouse Wood by outdoor activity company Kingswood.
Under the plans the council would sub lease part of the site for the pitches, with the football club managing and maintaining the facilities.
