A new all-weather pitch at Gigg Lane is one step nearer under plans bring considered by Bury Council.
Town hall bosses are proposing to invest £450,000 towards the replacement of the existing grass pitch with a new 3G one.
This is the money pledged by the council to support the return of elite men’s football to its historic home, in a club owned and run by its supporters.
The report will be considered by the council’s cabinet when it meets next Wednesday (13th March).
Councillor Charlotte Morris, cabinet member for culture, the economy and skills, said: “A 3G pitch at Gigg Lane will be a huge asset to the football club and the community, and an exemplar of how a fan-owned club can drive real social benefit. Bury Council is fully behind the club and we’re proud to be making a financial contribution to help realise this plan.
“Guaranteeing the future of the Gigg Lane ground will not only benefit the local economy, but secure additional benefits in providing floodlit 3G sports facilities that will be used not just by Bury FC, but by a range of grassroots sports clubs from across the borough. We see this as opportunity to develop a pioneering approach to working with a fan-owned football club to develop real and meaningful community benefit.”
The agreement would be subject to a financial due diligence review of the pitch proposal, the final drawdown of Government funding, lease arrangements and a community engagement plan.
This would look at activities such as: concessionary use of the pitch by community groups; using the venue to run motivational programmes targeted at young people not in work or education; public health activities to encourage fitness and health, particularly in the local community; those which tackle issues of isolation or loneliness among older people; providing free tickets for matches to groups such as care leavers, looked-after children and local school children.
Phil Young, chair of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury, whose members own Bury Football Club, said: “An artificial pitch would be transformational for both the club and the town, by bringing the community into the stadium for a variety of sport and social purposes seven days a week. 92% of our members, who own the club, voted in favour of it.
“We are grateful to Bury Council who are funding most of the work, in addition to a further £300,000 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the remainder from our own reserves which have been built up from membership subscriptions. It will be built by the community for the community, should the proposals go through.”
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