A NEW 3G pitch at Witham Sports Ground has taken its next steps towards becoming a reality after Braintree Council’s Cabinet agreed to award the contract.

The news comes after the council was awarded a grant of more than £290,000 from the Premier League, The FA and the Government via the Football Foundation to progress the plans.

This was on top of £640,770 of Section 106 contributions already secured which were funded from housing developments.

The project will see a new community 3G football pitch at the sports ground, land owned by the council, including high fencing, new LED floodlighting, goal storage, a new spectator area, sports and maintenance equipment and safe access for players and spectators.

Last September, the council agreed to work on a project to try and deliver four new 3G pitches in the district to improve outdoor sports facilities for both existing and new residents, located at Alec Hunter Academy and Notley High School in Braintree, New Rickstones Academy and Witham Sports Ground in Witham.

This was after feedback from sports clubs across the district who reported a lack of availability of 3G pitches.

Grants have already been secured from the Football Foundation and other partners for the sites at Notley High School and New Rickstones Academy, and the relevant academies will be entering into arrangements and contracts for the delivery of those projects.

A planning application for the Alec Hunter Academy site is due to be submitted and if approved will go to a future grant panel to seek funding support.

Braintree Council’s planning boss Gabrielle Spray said: “Supporting much-needed housing growth across the district comes with additional funding we can secure from housing developers via Section 106 to create new or improve existing community facilities to help meet increasing demand arising from developments.

“This is a fantastic example of how we can pull together contributions to deliver facilities that will have a lasting impact on communities and grassroots football in the area.

“We continue to work hard to bring in more financial contributions and actively encourage authorities to spend the funding and deliver infrastructure improvements to benefit our communities.”

Work at Witham Sports Ground is expected to begin in the Autumn.