Date: 15/07/2008
Work has started on a £500,000 state-of-the art sports pitch at Glossopdale Community College in Hadfield -- and the world-class training and match facilities are set to open at the start of the autumn term.
The new pitch -- made of an artificial grass surface of the highest national standards - will be a major boost for sport in Glossop and the High Peak, providing all-year round facilities - not just for the college, but also for primary schools and youth groups.
It will also provide world-class training and match facilities for Glossop based football and hockey clubs.
With full floodlighting, fully accessible toilets and changing rooms, the pitch has been designed so it can be divided into three sections, offering the capacity to cater for a number of activities at the same time.
The project -- funded by High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, Glossopdale Community College and the Football Foundation -- includes funding towards the cost of employing a Football Development Officer for five years to promote use of the facilities.
"It's great news that work has started on this much-needed sports facility in Hadfield," said John Hart, Principal of Glossopdale Community College. "If all goes according to plan, the pitch will be ready to use from the start of the autumn term.
"Not only will it extend the range of sporting activities that the College is able to offer to its own students, it will also be an invaluable resource for local primary school children and for a wide range of other sporting clubs in the Glossopdale area."
Councillor Andrew Bingham, High Peak Borough Council's Executive Member for Community and Social Development, said: "I am delighted to see that such excellent progress is being made in preparing this state-of-the-art pitch, which will give so many people of all ages the chance to play a wide variety of sports on their doorstep.
"One of the Council's key aims is to encourage everyone in the community - particularly young people -- to stay fit and healthy, and what better way to do that than to take advantage of world-class training and match facilities right here in the High Peak? With any luck, it could also be a fertile seed bed for the sports stars of the future."
Photo: John Hart (left) and Councillor Andrew Bingham point out the site for the sports pitch.