Football club’s plans to find a new home takes the next step
HOWDEN AIM TO RAISE £50,000 FOR CLUBHOUSE
HOWDEN’S local football team is aiming to raise £50,000 for a new clubhouse after getting planning permission five years on from a fire that gutted its previous home.
Howden AFC’S new facility is set to feature four changing rooms, storage areas, a kitchen and a snack room for spectators, as well as community space for other local groups.
Club secretary Keith Tinkler said it was now set to hold a series of fundraising events to fund the building of the clubhouse on playing fields off Station Road.
He added the club needed to come up with £50,000 while it would seek grants from Sport England and the Football Foundation for a further £100,000.
Plans were approved by East Riding Council with the backing of Howden Town Council.
It comes after the club’s former home, the town’s Ashes Playing Field cricket pavilion, burnt down in a suspected arson attack.
Mr Tinkler said: “We’re grateful for the support we’ve had from Howden Town Council and from the wider community.
“We’re now at the start of our journey to get the £50,000 we’re targeting to get the plans off the ground.
“We’re planning a professional 10km run for next year which has been approved by UK Athletics.
“We’ll also be looking to do a number of smaller events like presentations and members are also making their own efforts.
“We were supposed to have events this year, but we’ve had to push them back because of coronavirus.
“Howden AFC has been around for a long time. We used to play at Ashes Playing Fields, but the pavilion burnt down there a few years ago.
“The facilities we’ve been using since have become too small for us, and as new people have come on board in the past couple of years that’s provided some impetus to these plans.
“The application process has been going on for about 18 months, from the initial concept stage to approval.
“We got confirmation this week that the plans have been approved, as well as ones for an access road and new sign.
“So that’s where we are at the moment, we can’t really progress until we get the funding.
“The new clubhouse will benefit the area, as well as the team, they’ll be some sort of small community space in there.
“There will be opportunities for the community to use the facilities as a meeting place.
“There will be various events going on throughout the course of the year, last year we had a black tie ball to raise money.”