Football pitch in state of disrepair for a more than a decade finally gets revamp
A community in Staffordshire has come together to revamp a football pitch that has been in “disrepair” for over a decade.
The grounds at the Wheaton Aston Sports and Social Club have undergone a transformation this week, in a bid to get the junior football club up and running once more.
And Severn Trent are leading the repairs at the Lapley Lane pitch, after Philip Hodson – who is chairman of the club and works for the water company and gang leads for the green recovery team at the water supply company – approached them to get involved with the project.
The 41-year-old from Wheaton Aston, said: “I spoke to my manager regarding lending a machine over the weekend and she mentioned that Severn Trent do community champion days where they give their time and resources to projects like this.
“The pitch was in complete disrepair, there hasn’t been children’s football there for 15 to 20 years so as a community we decided we wanted to give back to the youngsters in the village.
“It will give boys and girls of all ages the opportunity to be part of a team, to build special skills and have fun in a safe environment.”
Around 17 people came from Severn Trent to help revamp the pitch and make it safe again ahead of the season to start in September. And helping to rejuvenate the pitch is Councillor Melvyn Smith, who represents the Wheaton Aston area and is also an advisor on the football club’s committee.
He added: “A few of us got together around five months ago and discussed how to get football back into the village because a lot of the local youngsters have to travel to other places and when they do that they are entering an area where there are hundreds of others so they may not get a chance.
“The pitch was a mess where it had been used for things like firework displays – all behind the goals there were blackthorn bushes growing which is really dangerous because they are full of sharp spikes so it was totally unusable.
“There isn’t much for the children to do in the local area so it’s an activity they can go and enjoy with their friends, no one is going to be excluded whether they are good at football or not good at football it gives people the physical activity and the sense of teamwork.
“It has all been hosted by the Wheaton Aston Sports Club which are the charity who have administered the playing field and a special thank you to Severn Trent because if people had to do that work by hand without the machines, I’d hate to think how long it would have taken.”
The pitch will be ready in time for the start of the football season where it will first be offering children to join an under eight’s team.
