Hopes are high for 3G facility at St John’s
Mr Henderson is leading a bid to secure funding from the Football Foundation for a 3G all-weather pitch at St John’s, for use by our students as well as the wider Marlborough community. We are bidding jointly with Marlborough Youth Football Club and have received support from both Marlborough Town Council and Wiltshire Council in putting the bid together. The planning application is now under consideration by Wiltshire Council.
The 3G pitch will further help to improve the range of sports facilities at St John’s following the opening of the school’s second sports hall with changing facilities and additional multi-use courts in May 2022, and is a project that has been on the school’s wish-list since the new site opened in 2009.
Mr Henderson said:
“This project has been an aim for the school for many years and we are delighted that we have already cleared so many hurdles and are now on track to secure substantial funding from the Football Foundation, benefiting not just our students but also providing facilities for our local community to use; something that is very important to me”.
The aim is for Marlborough Youth Football Club and other sports clubs to make regular use of the pitch during evenings, weekends, and school holidays, including sessions aimed at encouraging Women and Girls into football. St John’s students will use the pitch during the day, and there will also be capacity for other community users to play on the pitch. The regular use of the 3G pitch will also enable us to fund evening staff, which in turn allows St John’s to open other parts of the school to the community for sport, dance, exercise, meetings, evening classes etc.
Our large car park will allow visitors easy access to the pitch, which will be located at the west side of the school, and also close to the changing facilities.
Following a community consultation in December 2023, it is evident that there is a great deal of local support for the 3G plans, and Mr Henderson is hopeful that planning permission will be secured soon.
The design for the pitch includes LED floodlighting that is specifically designed for locations requiring low light pollution, ensuring that light reaches the pitch surface and not into the sky or polluting the environment, and meets the recommendations of the British Astronomical Association’s Campaign for Dark Skies.