Our club’s ambitious plans to develop a new ground received a boost from Wellington Town Council last night (Monday).
We are aiming to move our senior sides from the Playing Field to a new facility at the entrance to the Longforth Farm housing estate (pictured below).
We had applied to Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) for a £250,000 grant towards the project, which is costing in the region of £500,000.
However, SWT granted £200,000 – deciding instead to give an extra £50,000 towards Court Fields School’s £900,000 proposal to provide a 3G sports pitch on its site.
Town councillors have now agreed to make up the shortfall as part of their commitment to three major sporting developments in the town.
In addition to our club’s move and the Court Fields scheme, Wellington Rugby Club want to redevelop the Beech Grove field, adjoining their Athletic Ground headquarters.
It wants to provide two pitches with improved drainage and training lights in a scheme costing more than £350,000.
After last night’s meeting, Wellington AFC chairman, Mike Hall, said: “We are very grateful to Somerset West and Taunton and the Town Council for their generosity and support for the project.
“We can now move forward with the formal planning process – the next phase of our journey towards our goal of a dedicated facility for Wellington AFC.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to thank Jeff Brown (secretary) for his unstinting work on the project. Without his dedication and commitment we would not be where we are today.”
After Longforth is developed, we are still proposing to use the Playing Field for other teams – it’s also the headquarters of both Wellington Cricket Club and Wellington Tennis Club.
