Football club and council to improve leisure facilities in Telford

Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet will consider potential future opportunities for closer work with the football club and developments linked to the New Bucks Head at its meeting at Addenbrooke House next Thursday.

The club has asked the authority to be part of a project team to develop plans to extend its learning centre and to explore other leisure related development opportunities.

AFC Telford United is planning to extend and develop the centre so that it can work better for their needs, those of existing users and the wider community.

The proposed development would increase capacity for the children and young people's learning through football programme, create capacity for new community activities, improve community facilities, support new sporting, learning and cultural events and increased participation.

Potential future leisure provision on the site could include the development of community squash courts.

Ian Dosser, AFC Telford United chairman, said : "We have been working on these proposals for a long time and we presented an overview business case to the council on behalf of the board in the new year. Our work is often quite understandably judged by on field performance but I can assure everyone with an interest in the club that I lead a board that is committed to working hard to develop a brighter future.

"The plan would be to extend and develop the learning centre so that it can work better for us, and increase capacity for existing users and the wider community.

"We've also suggested that part of the site that is currently under utilised could potentially be used to develop new leisure provision on the site.

"We've agreed with the council that the capital receipt for the sale of the Bucks Head Pub, of £279,000 after costs, which was originally purchased with the intention of enhancing the footprint of the stadium, will potentially be made available to the project team and that this be used as match funding to lever in additional external funding."

The running costs of the centre, which provides free accommodation for a number of community projects, will be met by the club. The proposed development would help to generate additional revenue that could be reinvested back into the site.

The cabinet report asks that council representatives join a project team to extend the business case, explore opportunities for the wider development of the site for the purposes of leisure and to seek external match funding.

It is also recommended that the group explore opportunities to improve football facilities in the south of the borough through the potential creation of a South Telford Football Hub, which could develop the current provision at Telford Ski Centre providing additional sporting, education and social facilities and enable the club to extend it's reach into the south of the borough

Councillor Shaun Davies, Telford & Wrekin cabinet member for neighbourhood services, employment and skills, said: "We currently have a good working partnership with AFC Telford United.

"By working together we can ensure maximum benefit for the community and that any new provision will be complimentary to existing facilities in the borough.

"The proposals for improvements works at AFC Telford Utd will be complemented by wider regeneration works in Wellington, announced earlier this year, which includes £180,000 investment by the Council.

"I will be encouraging cabinet members to support this report and the continued partnership working with AFC Telford."