MORE than £1m in funding is set to go towards a new 3G pitch at a Merthyr Tydfil secondary school.
The council has announced that through the Cymru Football Foundation’s Fit-For-Future Facilities Programme, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Sport Wales Pitch Collaboration Fund, it has secured more than £1m in external funding to develop the facility at Afon Taf High School.
The new 3G will be full size and floodlit and can be used all year round for training and fixtures.
It will be run by the school, which has also invested into the development alongside the community focused schools team, with the pitch planned to be open to the public in the spring.
As well as the new pitch, the development will also see the adjacent John Sellwood Community Track have permanent floodlights installed.
The council said plans for the use of the pitch will be made in conjunction with local clubs and league officials to ensure it meets the needs of the community, adding it will be priced to ensure it is both “sustainable and affordable to local users”.
It also said ecological and lighting surveys have been done to ensure local habitat is not harmed by the new facility.
Active Merthyr Tydfil, the council’s sport development department, has been working closely with local clubs, leagues and governing bodies to develop sport through collaborative Merthyr forums, with facility development a key priority, particularly for football and rugby, the council said.
Councillor Brent Carter, leader of the council, said: “Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is hugely supportive of sport and its benefit to the local community.
“This new 3G facility, alongside the floodlighting of the John Sellwood Community Track, is a much-needed addition to the borough and will support the work of our fantastic local sports clubs.
“One of our priorities is to grow leisure and cultural spaces in Merthyr Tydfil, and the development of this site and others is key to achieving this.
“With some further facility developments in the pipeline and some targeted engagement programmes underway, I look forward to seeing further progress in the very near future”.
