New Development Update

Lots of recent activity spotted by many leading to speculation of what is happening on the New Development front.

The Development Committee would like to bring you up to date.

There has been a lot of work by the DC trying to sort out grants and plans going forward, meetings with SNC our NGB’s, contractors etc.

The weather, as you all know has put a strain on schedules as well as our existing pitches and Tom, our groundman, has had a mammoth task preparing pitches and training areas. He is doing a sterling job in adverse conditions.

Ok so here is the schedule for works that are happening right now and taking us into the summer and start of the next rugby/hockey season. READ MORE

  • Churchill’s are currently on site tipping loads of soil onto the new land, where it is being redistributed by them despite the weather.
  • Churchill’s, when the weather permits, will also be repairing the service road they put in.
  • Pitch 4 is almost to its required level. Topsoil and drainage (funds permitting) will then be put on top and graded ready for seeding which will then take place!
  • It is hoped that pitch 4 works will be completed by mid April. This will then be ready for use in August.
  • Pitch 3, many of you will have seen is looking in great shape and will be ready in the spring. It is still growing and being cut regularly! Posts will go up soon!!
  • Churchill’s will continue to fill the rest of the ground where the cricket pitch will be sited and it is anticipated all the ground works will be competed in the summer, with seeding of the cricket pitch as soon as possible!
  • Churchill’s will also in the meantime finish off the temporary car park (it will form the base of the new Tennis and MUGA area in due course). This is work in progress, the topsoil from there and the hockey pitch area will be recycled on the new ground.
  • We are waiting for final approval of some outstanding grants from SNC, Sport England and England Hockey Foundation to fund the new hockey pitch. We will have clarity of this by mid-February.
  • A planning application for the new astro pitch has been submitted, which is then a 9 week process. SNC have already indicated that they will support the planning app!
  • Once the funds have been secured for the astro, we can commence work. It is anticipated that work will be started in early April.
  • The hockey pitch is a 12 week build with a 2 week contingency, so will be ready well before the start of the season.
  • The amount of funding that we finally receive will also determine the spec of the astro pitch and the equipment and also the number of temporary changing rooms we want to provide before the new clubhouse is built.
  • So, by summertime we will have one of the best floodlit training pitches (Chesil) anywhere in the area, a new full size pitch 4 which will have backlighting from pitch 3, a new floodlit sand dressed hockey pitch capable of playing to national league standards and be available for use of other sports such as walking football, rugby training etc, a new car park for 250 cars and a cricket pitch, not ready for use till next year but will have lovely green grass on it!
  • Then we move on……

Here is a new plan, designed by Steve Hartley, our project manager illustrating the build stages of the whole project.