Welcome boost for sports facilities in Torridge with £100,000 grant

More than £100,000 has been allocated by Torridge District Council to improve sports facilities in Westward Ho!

The money will fund a multi-use games area (MUGA) at Northam Town Council’s recreation site at Avon Lane Park and a machinery, storage and floodlighting for Bideford Blues and Appledore Football Club’s astro turf facility at Sandymere.

It comes from a pot of section 106 funding secured through the development of land at Cornborough Road in Westward Ho!

Torridge District Council’s (TDC) community and resources committee was told on Monday (November 17) that Northam Town Council had recently redeveloped Avon Lane Park in Westward Ho! enhancing play space and three new tennis courts.

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There had been a long term ambition, supported by community engagement, to use the last remaining space on the site for further recreational physical activity in the form of a MUGA.

The town council, which plans to manage the facility, said the MUGA would have a durable all-weather surface, goals, hoops and secure fencing, making it suitable for a wide range of sports including football, basketball, and netball.

It will be free to use, open to all ages and designed to support both structured activities and informal play.

Above: The new MUGA will be on the end of the enhanced play space and tennis courts at Avon Lane Park in Westward Ho! Credit: TDC

“By providing this facility, we aim to promote health, wellbeing, and community cohesion, while also offering young people a positive and safe environment to be active,” said the council.

“There is no existing dedicated all-weather court or formal multi-use sports facility in Westward Ho! The proposed MUGA would fill this gap by providing an inclusive outdoor space for multiple sports accessible year-round and suitable for both informal and organised use.”

It added that residents, councillors and community groups had highlighted the lack of outdoor sports facilities in the town.

“Requests for a multi-use games area have been raised during council meetings, through local engagement, and by families and young people using the park. The project responds directly to this community demand and has been welcomed as a much-needed improvement to local recreation facilities,” it said.

Bideford Blues and Appledore FC requested funds for a specialist tractor to secure the longevity of the refurbished Astro turf at Sandymere.

The club had spent £200,000 on upgrading the turf and used all its available funds, it told the council.

Upgrading the floodlighting to LEDs would also start a decarbonisation programme of the clubs’ facilities which were used by hundreds of young people aged six to 16, local adult teams, schools and community groups.

Bideford councillor David Brenton said the club had done a brilliant job over the years in converting a ‘scrappy old field into a really good facility which a lot of young people enjoy’.

He said they needed all the encouragement the council could give them.

Bideford Blues and Appledore FC said it had investigated a battery powered tractor which would have been its preferable option, but it would cost an extra £1,000  and the charge would not be sufficient to get around the Astro turf in one go, resulting in volunteers not being able to complete their work.

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The club said it would be prepared to look at other models but would need an increase in grant to pay for the more expensive tractor and the charging infrastructure.

The MUGA for Northam Town Council will be funded to the tune of £72,949, which includes £14,000 for maintenance and £28,260 for the tractor, storage and lighting for the football club.

There is around another £80,000 in the section 106 funding pot which is specifically for sports and recreation in Westward Ho! and has to be spent over the next eight years.

Council officers said they were fully aware that there were other organisations in Westward Ho! that might benefit from this money and need support.