Footballers in Pinhoe are set to get better playing facilities
Published: 4 June 2020
Footballers in Pinhoe are set to get better playing facilities, the City Council has announced.
The Council has revealed plans to refurbish and upgrade the football pitches at Pinhoe Station Road, providing a better surface with improved drainage.
As part of the project, the size of the senior pitch will be increased to meet FA requirements and improviments will be made to the junior playing surface. Funding for the project comes from section 106 money from local housing developments at Monkerton and Tithebarn. The money from developers comes with a condition that it can only be spent on playing pitches in the Pinhoe area.
The site is currently used by Pinhoe AFC and Pinhoe Spartans Junior Football Club but many home matches have to be played elsewhere as the pitches don’t drain well and become waterlogged easily.
Cllr David Harvey, Lead Councillor for Environment and City Management, said the Council was looking to spend roughly £110,000 on the pitch upgrade, with work starting this summer and the improved pitches being ready for the 2021/22 football season.
“We’ve been looking for some time now for a project to upgrade the field to make it more playable. We’re going to reprofile the pitch so it slopes very gradually down to the brook and takes a lot of the water away. We’re going to put a lot of sand in and then we are going to do some drainage measures underneath so that the water can drain away better.
Cllr Harvey said the Council was also in discussion with the clubs about making more football available in Pinhoe – more junior and ladies football and the possibility of introducing football for disabled people.
Cllr Harvey added that although the works would bring about a period of disruption for the football clubs, the result would mean much better facilities for local footballers.
The initial work will only take around two to three months to be carried out but the pitches would be out of action for about a year to allow the turf to bed in. Home matches for the 2020/21 season would need to be played elsewhere in the city and the City Council would help in finding alternative venues.
“When this is done, we very much hope that every home match that the two clubs have to play will then be able to be played at Pinhoe and not elsewhere across the city,” he said.
Cllr Harvey said that the pitch improvements tied in with other work earmarked for the site. The Pinhoe Hub, which now has planning permission, will be built on the site of the old changing rooms, which is next door to a fully inclusive play park, opened just last year and a 'Chat Shack' beyond.
“We also have funds from developers for a BMX track and for the replacement of skate facilities. We are spending developers’ money wisely on developing projects and facilities for the people living in the area," added Cllr Harvey.