Bid to upgrade sports facilities

A successful bid for grant cash could revolutionise sporting facilities in Peacehaven.

Peacehaven Town Council has commissioned a study to bid for a Football Association Football Foundation grant which it hopes will transform football and sporting amenities in the town.

The ambitious plans will focus on the Sports Park area, off Piddinghoe Avenue. The area, owned and maintained by the town council, is made up of the Peacehaven and Telscombe Football Club ground, three outside pitches, a sports pavilion, four tennis courts and a bowls green.

The project, which could cost in excess of million, would include:

l A floodlit all year round Astro-turf pitch.

lA rebuilt bigger clubhouse with physiotherapy suite.

l A covered spectator stand.

l New dugouts, fencing and an improved public announcement system.

l An indoor training area.

l The appointment of a football development officer.

l Upgraded football pitches.

Peacehaven town clerk John Shepherd said the plans, developed by the Peacehaven Regeneration Partnership, were being scrutinised by consultants before the official bid was made.

Sport had been identified by the partnership as an area which would benefit a wide cross-section of the community, particularly youngsters.

Mr Shepherd said: It is an exciting and ambitious project to improve facilities and invest in grassroots football.

A football development officer would work as a football coach, one or two days a week, with local clubs and youth clubs to develop football in the area and also organise leagues including a girls league and men s five-a-side league with people from Peacehaven, Telscombe and Newhaven.

It is hoped a new football clubhouse, with social area, kitchen, bar and meeting rooms, would grow to be a centre for community activities and become a money-spinner for the council through rental income.

The Astro-turf pitch would be mostly for training and coaching. In the winter it would be used for junior football matches when the grass pitches were waterlogged and muddy.

A full report of the consultant s recommendations is expected by the end of November, with the official bid made soon after. The work could start next summer.