West Sussex sports hub plan would see new football pitches with floodlighting

Following a public consultation in July, plans for the Angmering Sports Hub project have been updated.

Palmer Road Recreation Ground is a large public open space in north Angmering. It currently includes a sports pavilion, grass football pitches, a cricket wicket, and children’s play facilities.

It has been identified as a strategic priority within the Local Plan for the provision of a community sports hub.

In an update, published this week, a post on the Arun District Council website reads: “A public consultation on designs for the Angmering Sports hub was published in July 2024 and returned 210 survey responses.

"The results have been reviewed and designs amended to reflect comments received.”

The project ‘aims to improve the existing facilities’ and has been designed to include: a new community sports hub building; one full sized 3G all-weather pitch with floodlighting; eight grass football pitches for a range of ages; one artificial turf cricket wicket; one multi-use games area (MUGA); a new play area and outdoor gym equipment.

The district council said a report is being presented to the Policy and Finance Committee on October 24 to update on the public consultation results and revised plans. The committee will be ‘asked to endorse the plans’ and that these are submitted for a planning application.

Surveys took place throughout July, with information gathered helping the project team who have been working on the draft designs.

The recreation ground is currently managed by Angmering Parish Council under lease from Arun District Council and is sub-leased to ASRA – Angmering Sports and Recreation Association.

A district council spokesperson added: “Our Playing Pitch Strategy (March 2019) assessed the pitches and changing facilities to be of poor quality but that the site overall should be developed as a multi-sport hub site with investment focused on improving grass pitches, upgrading the changing facilities and the provision of one or two 3G pitches.

“The Football Foundation’s Local Football Facilities Plan (May 2019) has identified Palmer Road as a priority project to deliver a key site for football, with opportunities for funding to significantly enhance and extend the current provision.

“Outline planning approval (A/122/19/OUT) was granted in 2020 for up to 160 homes north of Palmer Road recreation ground, on land which is not strategically within the Arun Local Plan but is within the Neighbourhood Plan provision.

"As part of the planning permission the section 106 agreement requires land to be made available for the expansion of current sports pitch provision to form the sports hub to the south of the residential development on Palmer Road recreation ground.”

Full details can be viewed here: https://www.arun.gov.uk/angmering-sports-hub