Ross-on-Wye sports centre is due to enter a new era with a £350,000 grant in the offing to develop a better car park, changing rooms and installation of floodlights.
But Herefordshire Council, whose agents Halo Leisure run the centre, is putting its money into developing sports facilities only at John Kyrle High School and Ross Swimming Pool.
The new chairman of Ross Town Football Club, Peter Gilmour, said his first priority was to keep the club and the sports centre going.
Peter is keen to point out that, while the football club uses the centre more than any other group, improvements to the centre will benefit everyone and these changes will see a new lease of life for the building which has been dilapidated for years.
The football club has already received planning permission to extend the building, improve changing rooms, resurface the car park, and install floodlights on the pitch.
Peter said he hopes these improvements will see the football club progress through the league into the Hellenic and Southern League Premier divisions.
“I am looking to get two promotions in three years and make it a proper semi-pro football club. A town of 10,000 people should be able to accommodate a football team of that level,” said Mr Gilmour.
The club have received backing from the Football Association (FA) and organisers are in the process of costing everything in fine detail – but estimate the final cost of the work to be between £300,00 to £350,000 – which will be obtained from the Football Foundation (FF).
“The FA and the FF have ear-marked Ross as an urgent area in terms of football.
“Herefordshire Council has said the priority for capital spend in Ross in terms of sport is nil – which is quite honestly impossible to understand.”
Tony Featherstone, parks, countryside and leisure development manager at Herefordshire Council told the Journal It has not been council practice to give capital grant support to private sports clubs for the development of their own facilities.
He added: “The council has no plans to further develop sporting facilities at the Wilton Sports Centre site – we are committed to developing the John Kyrle High School site as its preferred location for the future development of sporting facilities.
“Planning consent has been obtained for three additional sports pitches and a floodlit artificial turf pitch at the school site. It is hoped that the first phase of this development will start within the next 12 months.
“Meanwhile planning consent has been sought for an extension to the health and fitness facilities at Ross swimming pool. This development is programmed to start this financial year.”
But even though the council is working on sport in other areas of Ross, the football club are committed to improving the sports centre they already use.
Mr Gilmour said Halo Leisure, who run the centre in partnership with the council, are currently being very supportive of their plans and have applied for a premises and TV licences.
The club hope to be able to serve alcohol within the month and eventually get a big TV to hold sporting events.
“We are doing this for everybody and working as hard and as fast as we possibly can. We will use the centre on match days but social events will be open to everyone. It’s not exclusive for RTFC.”
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