£175,000 football facility opens

AFTER four years of "chasing the dream", a £175,000 football facility has finally opened on Grimsby's West Marsh.

A state-of-the-art 3G five, six or seven-a-side football pitch has been erected in the grounds of the West Marsh Community Centre, in Armstrong Street.

It is the first facility of its kind on the estate and is something community leaders have championed for years.

The pitch, which also has floodlights, will be used by the community centre's own football teams, as well as being open to the public, with bookings already being taken.

The Football Foundation, the largest sports charity in the country, paid for 52 per cent of the overall cost of the facility.

The non-profit business WREN supplied £50,000, the young people's service at North East Lincolnshire Council gave £20,000 and the users of the community centre raised £6,500 from community projects.

Football Foundation technical advisor Chris Barry, second left, cuts the ribbon to officially open the new all-weather football pitch, watched by, from left, Neil Barber, Ray Tinkler, of the Lincs FA, and NELC sports development manager Mark Cullum.

Neil Barber, a development officer for the West Marsh and West Marsh Community Centre manager, is delighted all the hard work has paid off.

He said: "For four or five years we have had this dream.

"Steve Webster has been my assistant in this, and we have really driven this project forward.

"It's a facility the area has never had and now, with so many added facilities, we can really secure the centre for the future.

"We were crying out for something like this, so it is fantastic to be able to finally unveil it and I can only express my gratitude to all of those who helped.

"I know the people of the area will love it."

Mr Barber revealed it is just the start of plans for the community centre, with space already earmarked for a basketball and tennis court.

Tracey Walsh, who coaches football at the centre, said: "We have wanted something like this around here for years.

"It is an extremely good facility and I can't wait to do some coaching on there."

Her son, Bailey, 10, of Henry Street, said: "I am really excited about playing on the pitch.

"I love playing football, but there are not many places to do it in the West Marsh and we only really have the park.

"All my friends say it is a good thing to have, so I am looking forward to playing on it."

Coun Keith Watkin (West Marsh, Ind) said: "It's a real asset to the ward.

"We've seen a lot of investment in the area in recent years, so I really hope local people appreciate these great opportunities for the West Marsh."

Gary Johnson, of the Lincolnshire Football Association (FA), added: "It's an absolutely fantastic facility and the local community now have some amazing opportunities to get involved in sport."

The facility was officially opened by Chris Barry, technical adviser for the Football Foundation.

He cut the ribbon to the cheers of those gathered, including workers at the centre, PCSOs and Lincolnshire FA officials.

Mr Barry said: "The quality of sporting experience that will be enjoyed by local people at this site will be massively improved thanks to the high specification of this development.

"The new 3G pitch can be used all year round and will be enjoyed by people of all ages, so this will undoubtedly become an important sports hub for the community."

Book now

If you would like to book the pitch, at £15 per hour, call the community centre on (01472) 251295.