Council helps fund John O' Gaunt Playing Pitch Bid

West Berkshire Council is putting £75k towards a joint funding bid from John O' Gaunt Secondary School, Hungerford Town Council and Hungerford Town Football Club for a new 3G sports pitch on their site in Hungerford.

The existing artificial grass pitch is at the end of its life. If the bid is successful, the playing area will be increased to a full size football pitch, and changed to a 3G surface enabling matchplay to take place on it.

The project has been identified in the Football Foundation's and Berks and Bucks Football Association Local Football Facility Plan as having potential as a community use facility. This aligns perfectly with the objective of the Council's Playing Pitch Strategy. 

The Council has worked in collaboration with John O'Gaunt, Hungerford Town Council, Hungerford Town Football Club, Football Foundation and Greenham Trust to support an application to the Football Foundation for a funding award that will hopefully secure enough to replace the existing pitch. Their £75k contribution, in addition to a £75k matched funding contribution from Greenham Trust would form part of the overall £600k budget for the project which successfully received planning approval on 11 July.

Howard Woollaston, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure says,

"We are delighted to be helping John O' Gaunt with this important bid. If the bid is successful, the new, larger 3G pitch will provide a great asset to the school, it will be a key training venue for Hungerford Football Club and many other local clubs too.

"The community use aspect of this project aligns perfectly with our Playing Pitch Strategy and we're happy to be supporting it."

Richard Hawthorne, Head of John O' Gaunt Schools says,

"I am truly delighted that West Berkshire Council have agreed to contribute such a significant amount to this ambitious project.  Alongside the recent good news of planning approval, we are ever closer to bringing a brilliant facility to the school and Hungerford.  As a school at the heart of our community, we know the importance of the opportunities it will create for our students and the local area."

Chris Boulton, Chief Executive of Greenham Trust says,

"We are delighted to support this project which will help the local community develop football in the area for many years to come."

Hungerford Town Football Club have a fundraising appeal on The Good Exchange. See more information and make a donation here.