New photos show progress as Bognor Regis Town HQ is transformed

Work is now well under way to transform the Nye Camp into a modern football hub boasting a new 3G pitch with a new infrastructure.

Good progress is being made on the £1.3m project after the grass pitch was ripped up ahead of the synthetic surface being laid. New dressing rooms are being built and the floodlights upgraded too.

Rocks have been playing home games at Chichester City's Oaklands Park since the start of the season and while gaffer Howell is extremely appreciative of their Isthmian premier division hosts, it is not lost on the him that his outfit are only tenants.

Off the pitch it has been a frustrating time for Bognor, with a string of poor results leaving themnear the foot of the Isthmian South Central division.

But after a mini recruitment drive and with some players leaving, they enjoyed a morale-boosting league victory against high-flying Ascot United last week – and the hope is the win will provide a springboard for better fortunes.

Club officials, led by project co-ordinator Russ Chandler, reckon a P021 homecoming by the end of November is now a realistic target.

After a few setbacks, including a drainage issue, the contractors are now roughly a week ahead of the new schedule and this would mean Howell's men could take to the pitch on Saturday, November 29 when they are due to host AFC Portchester.

Howell said of this update: "It's such good news. It's imperative we get back sooner rather than later; the fans have been brilliant coming across to Chichester and as much as we appreciate all the help Chichester have given, it's not home, and we need to be back in the familiar surroundings of Nyewood Lane.

"The work that has gone in to getting the pitch and the redevelopment done with all the hassle that brings, and the hard work, is really appreciate. So, we need to get back and start playing football in front of our home fans. I can't wait for that day to happen. It's a new start for the club in many respects.

"We have lots of good plans for academy teams, and linking more closely with our youth set-up with Mike and Carole Taylor-Brett and Andy Weir and those plans are really encouraging and we are looking forwards to them coming to fruition.

"And, of course, that will really help when we get back to the Lane. It's a new beginning and the home games will hopefully help us get more points because it has been hard with lots of 'away' games all the time, so yeah, we the management team and the players and staff can't wait to get in front of the fans at home and take the club forward."