Bridgwater green space could become sports hub

The Bristol Road playing fields lie between the railway line and the busy A38 north of the town centre, not far from The Parade housing development.

The space used to accommodate four football pitches, but is currently used primarily by dog-walkers after competitive football within the site ceased several years ago.

Sedgemoor District Council and the Bridgwater United Community Sports Trust have now agreed to work together to revitalise the space, turning it into a community sports facility with Bridgwater United Football Club at its heart.

The council’s executive voted unanimously on Wednesday morning (June 1) to transfer the playing fields to the trust under a 75-year lease, with the new community facility being brought forward in several phases.

Artist's impression of the new Bristol Road community sports facility

Initially, the trust will seek to create two football pitches within the site which can support competitive matches – though the football club will remain primarily based at its existing Fairfax Park stadium on College Way.

The trust hopes that the site will eventually comprise two 11-a-side grass pitches, two seven-a-side grass pitches and two five-a-side 3G pitches – along with two hard court multi-use games areas (MUGAs) and a community pavilion clubhouse.

The site will also include a community park, a dog walking area and a picnic area, with car parking being provided along the southern edge near the existing housing development.

Adam Murry, chief executive officer of Bridgwater United Football Club said the new facility would allow the trust to continue reaching large numbers of young people in deprived areas, as well as benefiting the wider community.

He said: “There’s been a meteoric expansion in the area in terms of the outreach programmes we do in the town – demand is growing every day in terms of the work we do with the police and residents.

“I’m amazed by the speed at which we’ve grown, which makes me confident in delivering this proposal and the necessity it has for the town. Having a facility like this for residents and the club would create such a positive vibe within the area.

“I truly believe that it would be an amazing project and facility for the surrounding areas of the town and branching out even further. A safe environment is very positive for the community and the club as well.

“We’ve grown from two members on the trust to nearly 50. We’re now in the Sydenham estate as well and it’s growing exponentially – we bring the young people down to our ground by minibus.

“We got them involved with professional coaches – it was like we had given them a million pounds each.”

Several objections have been raised to the lease – including concerns about anti-social behaviour, noise, the impact on dog walkers and the access between the site and the A38.

Councillor Hilary Bruce – whose Bridgwater Eastover ward includes the site – said: “I’m very concerned about the access issue for the site. If the planning permission is not granted, does the lease automatically go back into the ownership of Sedgemoor and then the unitary?

“I’m assuming that nothing at all can be done on the site unless access issues are sorted out through planning first? It is a major issue.”

Council officer Michelle Fry responded: “We would look to address this at the beginning to ensure access was sorted. The lease will be conditional upon that planning as well – we need to ensure that we protect that site.”