A project to transform six artificial training pitches at BH Live Active, Pelhams in North Bournemouth has completed.
BH Live, the registered charity and social enterprise that operates the leisure centre in partnership with BCP Council, invested more than £240K to enhance the well-attended community facilities.
The centre’s outdoor five-a-side pitches were resurfaced with the latest in 3G rubber crumb technology to replicate a traditional football pitch. New kickboards, netting and fencing were installed to improve the player’s experience. The work was led by SIS (Surfaces In Sport), who have previously designed pitches internationally for premier league matches, cricket matches, and much more.
The pitches are open year-round and are popular with local clubs, football fans, and schools, who regularly visit Pelhams for training, pay as you go sessions, leagues and matches.
Maddison Millington-Stanbury, Arsenal football goalie, regularly trains at the centre through the FANS (Free Access for National Sportspeople) membership scheme. Maddison visited the centre to celebrate the completion of the project. She said;
“Having regular access to high-quality training pitches and local clubs such as the ones available at Pelhams has been extremely important in my journey to become an Arsenal football goalie. The refurbished pitches look and feel incredible – BH Live and the team at the centre have done a fantastic job!”
The FANS scheme is a sports development initiative providing support to leading sports performers by reducing the financial burden of training costs.
The scheme provides nationally ranked sports people with free access to participating local authority leisure and sports facilities at designated times, for personal training and development. More than 50 people are regularly active through the FANS scheme at BH Live Active leisure centres across the BCP region.
On behalf of BH Live, Rob Cunningham, Director of Leisure and Business Development, shared;
“Thanks to continued investment into these community facilities, we are actively encouraging more visitors to engage in physical activity. We hope that this refurbishment project will encourage more young people to discover a love of football and have a go at a new sport. I want to offer my special thanks to Maddison for coming along to celebrate the improved facilities with us.”
For more information about BH Live Active, Pelhams, including opening times, pitch bookings, and facilities, visit bhliveactive.org.uk/pelhams, the BH Live Active app, on pop into the centre to speak with a member of the team.
More information about BCP Councils’ FANS membership scheme, including criteria and how to apply can be found at bcpcouncil.gov.uk