School looking to build new artificial sports pitch
Waterlogged school pitches that have led to cancelled matches and an ageing hard sports surface that poses a “slip hazard” could be replaced, if plans are approved.
Newdale Primary School, in Telford, says its football and rugby pitch is “unplayable” throughout the winter, while the adjacent macadam courts are worn through in some places, exposing the gravel underneath.
John Griffiths, the business manager at the 420-pupil Marlborough Way School, has applied to replace the grass pitch with 950 square metres of artificial turf, change the multi-sport arena’s surface to a synthetic flooring and renew the macadam on the hard court.
Lawley and Overdale Parish Council will be consulted about the proposal, and Telford and Wrekin Council’s planning department will make its decision at a later date.
A supporting statement submitted by Mr Griffiths says the existing grass pitch, currently used for football and tag rugby, “has very poor drainage”, leaving it waterlogged and unusable for long periods, especially between November and March.
The existing hard-surfaces area, used for basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball and tennis, are now 18 years old, he adds, “and the top surface is breaking down causing large amounts of gravel to be on the top of the surface”.
Mr Griffiths writes: “This causes slipping hazards and, when children do fall on the surface and graze their knees, the gravel will go into the wound.”
He says all sports currently played on the surfaces will still be viable on the new and refurbished surfaces, with the former grass area “accessible all year round, enabling more time to be spent playing sports on that surfaces”.
Sufficient grass space will remain at the side of the pitch to allow track athletics to continue in the summer, Mr Griffiths adds.
Inter-school matches will be possible “without having to cancel due to waterlogging issues” and “the area will also be used during break and lunchtimes enabling more children to enjoy the outdoor fresh air”, he adds.
“The school has sufficient cash reserves to cover the cost of this proposal and ongoing maintenance and is not seeking any grant funding towards to the costs,” Mr Griffiths writes, adding that the school’s governors have approved the spending.
