Braintree District Council’s Cabinet approved over £1million Section 106 funding to help deliver a scheme to provide four new third generation artificial grass pitches (AGP) in Braintree and Witham at a meeting yesterday (Monday, 25 September).
The Section 106 funding, secured through the planning process from up to seven housing developments, has been allocated towards projects for new floodlit 3G artificial grass pitches (AGP) for community and school use, anticipated to be located at the following areas:
Alec Hunter Academy, Braintree
Notley High School, Braintree
New Rickstones Academy, Witham
Witham Sports Ground
This comes after public feedback for more availability of pitches due to increased demand and growing popularity of casual and small sided football.
The Premier League, the FA and Government’s Football Foundation has agreed in principle the support and will look to identify opportunities for additional funding to allow the pitches to be delivered.
Each applicant will be required to apply to the Football Foundation for a grant contribution in addition to the Section 106 funding and local funding raised. The schools and Braintree District Council are working with the Football Foundation and Essex County Football Association (Essex FA) on the technical development of the projects through their framework process and on programmes of use with clubs and community partners.
A specialist project bid consultant has been appointed by Braintree District Council to help coordinate and manage the funding bids, and to help the academies and local clubs raise money and access grant funding to support the future applications.
Cllr Gabrielle Spray, Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure at Braintree District Council, said: “This is a great example of where the planning process can play a crucial role in securing financial contributions from developers that can be used to improve community facilities, and this contribution will hopefully leverage a larger investment to improve the district’s outdoor sports facilities. We continue to work hard to bring in Section 106 contributions to support with much-needed infrastructure improvements and community facilities to benefit our communities.”
Cllr Mary Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities at Braintree District Council, said: “This funding will be a huge contributor to delivering new artificial grass pitches across the district for not only existing clubs but also for new junior and adult football teams in the community. We hope local football clubs and any community or health organisations and groups who would benefit from the pitches are able to come forward to help deliver priorities, including tackling sporting inequalities and enabling greater opportunities for sports and physical activity in the district.”
Existing artificial grass pitches in the Braintree district include Great Notley Country Park, Halstead Leisure Centre, Braintree Sports & Health Club, Hedingham School and Lyons Hall Primary School.
