There has been plenty happening at Youngs Park in recent weeks, with a number of important improvement projects taking place across the club.
One of the biggest developments has been the installation of solar panels on the roof at Youngs Park. Like many organisations, Aylsham FC has seen rising energy costs in recent years, with our electricity bills increasing by around £4,000 per year. In response, Ian Potter has worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to secure a 100% grant to cover the cost of the solar panel installation.
This is a fantastic step forward for the club. Not only will it help make Youngs Park more environmentally friendly, but it will also help reduce our running costs, allowing more funds to be directed back into footballing projects across the club.
There is more work planned over the summer too. We’ve been working away internally and externally on improving the internal structure of our wiring and electrics with help from Bure Valley Electrical, and are in the process of gauging costs to install a sound system into the building in order to allow us to begin showing sporting events with an atmosphere live at Youngs Park. In bigger news we have also secured grant support to help refurbish the club kitchen, with work due to begin shortly. This project will make a real difference to the facilities at Youngs Park and will be supported by volunteers from A Collins Builder and Attention to Detail, whose help is hugely appreciated.
There has also been recent work carried out on the car park to help improve stability and drainage, making another important part of the site more practical and resilient for the future.
On the football side, we have been able to add new goals to our 5-a-side pitch. These have been paid for thanks to the contribution of our sponsors and the support generated through our new youth pitch advertising boards. It is another great example of sponsorship money being put directly back into improving facilities for our players.
The site itself has also had some welcome extra support from the Community Payback team, who have been helping freshen up Youngs Park through painting, gardening, wood staining and mowing the supporter areas. Their work has made a visible difference across the site and is greatly appreciated by everyone at the club.
Important maintenance work is also being carried out across the playing facilities. Essential drainage and surface work is taking place to ensure the pitches at Youngs Park continue to be maintained to a high standard and remain facilities the club can be proud of.
As always, our thanks go to the people who give their time and expertise to keep Youngs Park looking and performing at its best. A special thank you goes to our grounds team, Jeff, Tom and Stu, as well as Shayn from Elite Equipment for their support with the ongoing pitch maintenance work.
It is going to be a busy summer at Youngs Park, but all of this work plays an important part in helping Aylsham FC continue to improve, develop and provide the best possible environment for our players, teams, volunteers and wider football community.
