The Youngs Community Sports Trust and Aylsham Football Club are delighted to announce work will begin next month on a new state-of-the-art 3G pitch.

Contractors are due to start building the all-weather 3G football facility at Youngs Park, in Aylsham, on March 4 after a recent grant offer of £543,816 from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation.

This follows last year’s grant award offer of £250,000 from the Greater Norwich Growth Board (GNGB) through the Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Construction of the J B Postle 3G Arena, which will be available for use by the wider community and surrounding villages, is scheduled to take around 14 weeks to complete.

Ian Potter, football club chairman and trustee (The Youngs Community Sports Trust), said he was delighted by the progress of the project.

“It’s exciting to start the building phase in March, two months ahead of schedule, and this means it will be ready for use earlier than we expected,” said Ian.

Youngs Park was opened in November 2015 and is the home of Aylsham FC, Norfolk FA Schools and a diverse range of community groups who use the facility every week.

Growth of over 70% in football teams and groups since opening – increasing demand to expand our offering for women and girls, walking, wellbeing and recreational football – represents a compelling case for funding of the 3G facility, which will be illuminated by LED lights and surrounded by a four-metre-high fence.

Ian added: “The start of this work is part of an ongoing journey to ensure we develop and maintain the very best in football, health and wellbeing facilities – creating legacy for our community.  This investment is only possible because of the compelling story surrounding our journey, due to the hard work of all the volunteers at the football club and Youngs Park who make this is a special place.”

The 3G pitch will be built alongside the existing floodlit main pitch at Youngs Park.

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA and Government – to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country.

“Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities.

“This grant award to The Youngs Community Sports Trust and Aylsham FC towards developing a 3G pitch is fantastic news for the local community and will help give more people access to a great place to play.”

Cllr Kay Mason Billig, Chair of the GNGB and leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “The Greater Norwich Growth Board is delighted that it’s grant award offer of £250,000 to Youngs Community Sports Trust and Aylsham Football Club has resulted in further funding for the area.

“Projects like this are a testament to the collaborative spirit of the local community and stakeholders who are passionate about residents and community groups with a quality facility where they can explore recreational opportunities.”

The announcement of the start date for the 3G pitch project at Youngs Park was also welcomed by the Norfolk Football Association.

Ian Grange, Head of Facilities and Deputy CEO at Norfolk FA, said: “I was delighted to hear the news that The Youngs Community Sports Trust and Aylsham Football Club have been successful in their funding application to the Football Foundation to build a state-of-the-art 11v11 3G pitch at Youngs Park.

“This funding, together with significant capital investment already secured via the Greater Norwich Growth Board, delivers a 3G pitch which enables strategic growth of football participation within the football club and from around the surrounding locality – from both an affiliated game and recreational game perspective.

“The new 3G pitch will be accessible seven days a week and will be a conduit to drive an increase in female football, disability football and walking football, as well as catering for a wide range of community-based programmes.  “This project shows what can be achieved when key stakeholders work together and I pass my sincere thanks to all organisations who have enabled this fantastic project to become a reality.”

WORDS: Just Regional

The drive for a £1m all-weather football pitch at Aylsham’s FC’s Youngs Park base has reached a vital stage after an application was submitted to the Football Foundation for the lion’s share of the funding.

Aylsham FC chair and Youngs Community Sports Trustee Ian Potter believes a compelling case has been made to secure the key piece in the complex jigsaw to pay for the project – named the 3G JB Postle Arena after sponsorship from a local electrical retailer celebrating its centenary.

The bid to secure £800,000 plus VAT follows an intense three-month application process, with over 30,0000 words and 50 supporting documents submitted to the government-backed FA and Premier League charity improving grassroots football facilities.

Ian thanked Norfolk FA head of facilities and deputy CEO Ian Grange for his fantastic support.
“Our story is compelling thanks to the fantastic work of all the volunteers at Aylsham FC and Youngs Park,” he added.

The Football Foundation investment panel review is expected over the next couple of months with a formal decision expected next January.

“As a club and with the charitable trust, we must raise a minimum of our revised target of £24,000 to top up all of the grants we have managed to secure or are working towards,” said Ian.

“We have raised around £10,000 to date and now need a big push by everyone over the next four to five months before works starts – envisaged to be late Spring 2024.“

The wide range of events which have already taken place include a mini soccer football tournament, girls holiday programme coaching event, cake bake and supporting Aylsham show.

Main sponsor JB Postle has made a significant contribution to the charity fund and a “Go Fund me page” has also been set up: https://www.gofundme.com/f/3g-pitch

Ian added: “We are incredibly grateful to all our existing local business sponsors and advertisers who support Aylsham FC and Youngs Park – if you are looking to promote your business, we would love to hear from you.  If it’s an advertising board for the main pitch, call Alan Collins on 07901 915525 for a chat.”

The new floodlit pitch (on the existing full-size pitch two next to the floodlit main pitch), with fencing and a spectator area, is needed to cope with demand for matches and training in all weathers at the popular Youngs Park. The facility, which opened in November 2015, now hosts 30 teams and recreational groups with more than 500 players a week.  The 3G pitch scheme was boosted by a £250,000 grant this year from the Greater Norwich Growth Board’s Infrastructure Investment Fund to start the ball rolling.

ON THE BALL: JB Postle directors Jon Postle (right) and Nikki Filby are pictured with Ian Potter, Aylsham FC chairman and Youngs Park trustee.

An Aylsham-based business marking its centenary is celebrating by being the main sponsor of the town’s planned new all-weather football pitch.

The £1m community sports facility, being promoted by the local football club and Youngs Park sports ground, will be called the J B Postle 3G Arena.

The electrical retailer, which was founded in Aylsham in 1923 and also has branches in North Walsham and Sheringham, will sponsor the pitch, which is due to open next summer, for the first three years. They will also make a major contribution towards the £35,000 of local fundraising needed to top up grant funding.

Company director Jon Postle said: “We like to help by putting something back into our local community. Supporting this fantastic modern sports facility is a great way to mark our centenary.

“One hundred years ago our granddad John Baden Postle supported the football club when it was on the Recreation Ground. Today we already support the club at Youngs Park by providing them with televisions for the clubhouse, but wanted to do more to help the pitch project at a club which is a key part of the community.”

Nikki Filby and Jon Postle

Football club chairman and Youngs Park trustee Ian Potter said: “We are really grateful for Postle’s support of our 3G pitch. They have helped us since we launched Youngs Park in 2015, so this naming rights sponsorship for the 3G arena was a natural follow on.

“Their contribution not only gets the ball rolling on our local top-up fundraising this year, but will help create a fund to maintain the facility and replace the playing surface in the future.“

The 3G pitch scheme, which is backed by the football club and The Youngs Community Sports Trust, was given a big boost last month when it received a £250,000 grant from the Greater Norwich Growth Board’s Infrastructure Investment Fund to start the ball rolling. Further grant help, to deliver the project, is now being finalised from the Football Foundation – the government-backed FA and Premier League charity improving grassroots football facilities.

The new floodlit pitch with fencing and a spectator area is needed to cope with demand for matches and training in all weathers at a popular facility that has grown 70pc in seven years, and now hosts 34 teams and recreational groups with more than 500 players a week.

J B Postle, which is part of the Euronics UK electrical wholesale group, began as a hairdresser/ barber and tobacconist before its founder diversified into electronics by collecting and serving accumulator batteries in the local area.  It is run today by co-directors Jon and his sister Nikki Filby.

Ian Potter with Nikki Filby and Jon Postle

WORDS: JUST REGIONAL