Euxton Villa Pavilion
A FOOTBALL team has started the season on a high with a new pavilion and changing rooms thanks to help from Chorley Council.
Euxton Villa Football Club are now settling into their new £350,000 home as they look to make the most of their high quality pitches and start a girls team to tap into the growing demand in Chorley.
Project manager and Chairman of Euxton Villa FC, Graham Keyte, said everyone is proud of the new facilities and is sure popularity will grow.
"This building is really important to us because we couldn't get the maximum use out of our pitches and we could never have girls football until we had changing rooms that afforded privacy.
"It's early days at the moment but everything is going well and once we have adjusted to managing such a substantial building then we hope to develop more footballing opportunities for local people.
"Chorley Council have been a brilliant help and without the money from the authority we couldn't have started the project."
The club has been struggling to meet demand and take advantage of its three full-sized pitches and one mini-football pitch because of the poor changing rooms.
The old buildings, on The Jim Fowler Memorial Playing Fields, Runshaw Hall Lane, have now been knocked down and replaced with a new pavilion with six new changing rooms for males and females and new club space including a kitchen and education coach room.
Chorley Council put £10,000 towards the project and helped to secure other grants from organisations such as the Football Foundation.
Councillor Mark Perks, Chorley Council's Executive Member for Health, Leisure and Well-being, said: "This new pavilion is fantastic news for both the football club and the local community.
"Supporting sports at grass roots level is vitally important and we hope these facilities will be well used by both the club and sports teams across the borough.
"The new pavilion will also create the chance to set up teams for female and disabled footballers providing more sporting opportunities for local people."
CHANGING TIMES: Euxton Villa Manager Mark McDonnell in one of the new changing rooms.
