Efforts to upgrade football pitches in Pinhoe moved a step closer to completion this week after remedial work was carried out to plug holes – thought to have been created by foxes - on the playing surface.
The issue has perplexed engineers at the City Council for some time now. However, following extensive repairs to the surface, engineers are now confident they may have solved the problem.
Work has now been going on to upgrade the pitches at Pinhoe Station Road Playing Fields for some time.
Now engineers are hopeful the pitches will be ready for matches for the 2025/26 season.
Cllr Ruth Williams, Lead Councillor for City Management, said: “We’ve improved the drainage and playing surface of the pitches. They used to be dreadful, with puddles and mud.
“Obviously the initiative has taken longer than anticipated, mainly due to the problems with holes appearing in the surface and we can only apologise for the delay. It has been a continual source of frustration but we hope we are nearly there.”
Cllr Duncan Wood, Lead Councillor for Leisure Services & Healthy Living, and a Pinhoe ward councillor, said: “We’re keen to get these pitches up and running as soon as possible Now that the current season is underway, we’re realistically looking at next season now.
“We appreciate that it’s taken a while to get the playing surface to a suitable standard and are hoping now that we’re there and we can soon see football being played on these pitches.”
Around £150,000 has been spent on the pitch upgrade, with funding for the project coming from section 106 money from local housing developments at Monkerton and Tithebarn. The money from developers comes with a condition that it can only be spent on playing pitches in the Pinhoe area.
The size of the senior pitch had been increased to meet FA requirements and improvements made to the junior playing surface.
The main pitch has been re-profiled so that it slopes very gradually down to the brook, with sand put down and drainage installed underneath the pitch so that the water can drain away better.
In previous years, many home matches had to be played elsewhere as the pitches didn’t drain well and become waterlogged easily.
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