Charity passes £40k to Stanley Trust sport hub
FLORA BYATT
ACHARITY has donated £40,000 to the construction of a new sports hub.
The Garfield Weston Foundation has pledged the cash to Accrington Stanley Community Trust, to go towards the construction costs of the new sports hub facility at Higham Playing Fields.
The new donation has brought the much-needed cash for the hub up to the trust’s funding target.
Plans for the £2m sports hub see it set to include a full-sized floodlit 4G pitch, several grass pitches, and a community building with changing rooms, classrooms,
offices, and a cafe. The hub will also develop employability skills for those out of work, create new job opportunities and volunteer opportunities.
Construction is expected to be completed early next year, but since it has begun, the site has been repeatedly targeted by acts of vandalism, including an attack on the security fencing and new sign.
Accrington Stanley has also signed a 30-year lease on the playing fields.
Martin Fearon, CEO of Accrington Stanley Community Trust, said: “We are delighted that the Garfield Weston Foundation have chosen to support our community Sports Hub project with a donation of £40,000.
“This development was reliant on securing substantial external funding, and we are extremely pleased to announce that this donation has helped us reach our final funding target.”
Accrington Stanley works to increase sports participation in the community, and it is hoped the hub can be used by multiple organisations, includng grassroots clubs.