People living in the Haddenham area are set to benefit from fresh investment in new football facilities thanks to a £503,292 grant from the Premier League.
This investment will enable Haddenham Parish Council to provide new grass pitches, a pavilion, a car park and an access road at Newton Road.
The site will be used by Haddenham Rovers Colts teams for training and matches, with additional recreational space available to the whole community as a result.
These new facilities represent a significant extension of the existing sporting facilities in Haddenham which are currently not able to cope with the demand from the Colts Club.
The club currently has 11 teams playing across just three pitches with many children having to travel outside of the village to play on hired pitches.
Chairman of Haddenham Rovers Colts Football Club, Grayham Roper, said: “I am delighted that this funding has been secured.
“The additional pitches and quality facilities will allow the club to flourish and grow, providing more local children with the opportunity to play football.
“I’d like to thank the team behind the application for their hard work and dedication throughout.”
The wider community will benefit from this additional space with a further 6.5 acres or recreational land for public use outside match times.
A circular walk connecting the west side of the village to existing rights of way on the south will be popular for many residents.
The project has been supported by an additional £305,000 from East Cambridgeshire District Council with funding also coming from Haddenham Recreating Charity, Haddenham Rovers Colts and Haddenham Parish Council.
Lucy Frazer, MP for South East Cambridgeshire and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said: "I am absolutely delighted that Haddenham Parish Council has been successful in its bid to the Football Foundation for a new pavilion and grass football pitches.
"As the local Member of Parliament, I threw my support behind this bid because I could see the significant benefits this project would create for the entire village sports community, including more space for existing teams to play, higher quality training sessions and less pressure on the recreation ground, which is shared with the village cricket club."
She added: "This grant also means that the village will have the necessary resources available to accommodate future talent, as it has done consistently over the last few years."
Cllr Bill Hunt, Cambridgeshire county councillor for Soham South and Haddenham Division, wrote to the Ely Standard expressing his “delight” for the secured funding.
In the letter, he said: “As Haddenham's newly re-elected County Councillor I am truly delighted that Haddenham has secured the funding it needs to create the new sports ground and facilities it so desperately needs.
“One can feel the energy radiating from this go-ahead Parish which just wants to make Haddenham an even better place to live and bring up families.
“Successes like this are only achieved by lots and lots of hard work by many people over many years. and Haddenham is blessed with lots of really go-head hard working people.
“The latest grant of over £500,000 (Half a million pounds!) just does not drop off trees and was hard won.
“Very best wishes and Congratulations for an excellent start to a wonderful "Goal". I look forward to helping the Parish Council in the future.”
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