'A great result': Celebrations after 10-year plan for sports pitch in Newport gets the green light

This week, The Burton Borough School in Newport was given permission to build a new artificial sports pitch on the school grounds after receiving overwhelming support from the local community.

The pitch will do more than just give pupils a new place for a kick around, as it will be available for use by local football clubs, partner organisations and other sports clubs in the area.

During the consultation period, the application attracted dozens of enthusiastic comments from neighbours and local sports groups, who claimed that teams were travelling for miles to play during wetter weather.

A 3G pitch - or 'Third Generation' - is a synthetic turf surface that is designed to mimic the look and feel of a natural grass pitch mean it will provide all-weather access for sports and activities.

Newport councillor, Peter Scott, said the plans were ten years in the making, after the old football pitches opposite the Audco factory were taken away for houses to be built.

A replacement pitch was installed, but Mr Scott said it was "landlocked" and unsuitable for the number of sports teams who wanted to use it.

Now, after a decade of work, those teams will have access to a new 3G pitch that has been largely funded by the FA and Sports England.

Councillor Scott said: "A lot of people have worked a very long time on these plans. It's a great result for everyone who has been involved.

"It's a big group effort by a lot of people to get what the town needs. We are very fortunate to get a 3G pitch, they're very costly and it'll mean that the pitch can be used by everybody all the time."