The Football Foundation, local Member of Parliament and internationally renowned football freestyler, Billy Wingrove, all praise the new GreenFields artificial turf pitch in Chippenham (Wiltshire), England. The opening of the new GreenFields pitch constructed within the FA Framework coincides with Stanley Park winning the award for “Public Sector Outdoor Facility of the Year” at the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) National Industry Awards.

The FA Framework Agreement outlines the responsibility of artificial turf manufacturers to project manage the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the new facilities. Within this, particular focus is given to the need for the pitches to satisfy performance criteria, to ensure a high standard of playing surface is provided to end users. The new facilities will provide on-going access to the 80 local clubs who use the facility and allow the opportunity for more people to take up football.

Communities deserve great facilities

Many community football facilities are of poor quality and suffer from under investment. In Chippenham, the Council took a different approach. They recognised the many benefits that good quality football facilities can bring to a local community, encouraging participation in sport and giving children of all abilities the opportunity to play on a first class playing surface. In addition, the installation of a new GreenFields artificial turf pitch creates additional capacity that will allow even more clubs to use the facilities.

Partnership delivers results

The success of the Stanley Park pitch is a result of the partnership between the Football Foundation and the Local Authority, driven by people with passion and foresight to see the long term and sustainable benefits of artificial turf. All partners realise a benefit. Football sees more talent coming through the grassroots structure, the Local Authority generates increased sports participation and lower maintenance costs, and the champions of the project receive the public recognition they deserve.

Billy Wingrove, the internationally renowned football freestyler, said at the opening, “When I was growing up, grassroots football was a significant part of my life. It helped give me a love for the game and a desire to work hard at improving and developing my skills. Attending the event today and viewing all the youngsters’ enthusiasm playing on the new pitch shows how many people in the local community will benefit from this project”.

The GreenFields project constructed within its strategic partnership with S&C Slatter has also been successfully tested and certified according to the FIFA Quality Concept For Football Turf – FIFA 1 Star. Paul Milton, Commercial Director of GreenFields commented; “From the very beginning of the project award through to its completion, the staff at Chippenham Town Council and Stanley Park clearly displayed their desire to continue the first class standard of the overall site whilst adding a synthetic field. I would like to place on record our thanks to both Peter Hussey and Adrian Jones for their trusted assistance in making the project construction so successful and it has been an honour for GreenFields to be associated with a facility recognised by the IOG for such high standards.