The first steps towards a new all-weather football pitch in the city are to be considered by Worcester City councillors.
A proposal to upgrade a former hockey pitch to a modern 3G all-weather pitch is set to be considered by the Communities Committee when it meets next week.
The aim is to establish an improved facility at Nunnery Wood Sports Complex to meet the growing demand for football pitches in the city, especially from women’s and girls’ teams.
Councillor Katie Collier, Vice Chair of the Communities Committee, said: “More and more football teams are starting in Worcester and that means the demand for pitches is growing.
“The FA’s data points to Worcester having 53 football teams by 2030, with 20 of those being women’s or girls’ teams.
“That means more high-quality all-weather pitches are needed, which is why it’s important that the Communities Committee gives serious consideration to this proposal.”
The Committee will be asked to support the City Council contributing £100,000 towards the £734,000 cost of upgrading the pitch and refurbishing the existing changing rooms. The Council’s educational partners at the site, Worcester Sixth Form College and Nunnery Wood High School, will also contribute £50,000 each.
The project will only become a reality if the remaining £534,000 cost is met by the Football Foundation, which is due to consider a funding application from the partners next month.
If the project goes ahead, two thirds of its use in the daytime would be by Nunnery Wood High School, with the remaining third of the hours being taken by Worcester Sixth Form College. In the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays it would be available for community bookings, managed by Freedom Leisure on behalf of the City Council.
It is expected that 44% of the peak usage of the new pitch would be by women’s and girls’ teams, making Nunnery Wood a flagship site for the development of the women’s and girls' game.
Freedom Leisure, which manages the City Council’s leisure and sports centres, would also look to establish a walking football group at the new pitch and investigate the potential for running blind football sessions.
Working with Worcester Community Trust, Freedom’s Healthy Communities team also hopes to establish regular sessions for disadvantaged children and young people.
