Football facility in Ringwood opens
6 November 2024
Football facilities in Ringwood have opened after we gave £535,000 towards the project.
Ringwood Community Hub (Long Lane in Kingston, Ringwood) held an opening event for their two-storey pavilion with changing rooms, offices and a club house. A 3G Artificial Turf Pitch opened for football training in February 2023.
We contributed £535,000 towards the Ringwood Community Hub from developer contributions, with the overall project costing £3.4 million, and worked with Ringwood Town Council, and AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust. The project was supported by the Football Foundation.
Cllr Jill Cleary, Leader of the Council, gave a speech at the opening of the pavilion and said: "It is wonderful to be here, seeing these amazing facilities opened for the community. This has been several years in the making, and I am aware of the partnership work and effort that has been put in to deliver this facility.
We have invested in this project as we can see the importance of this facility for the area. It will help to address the current need for pitches and help to increase the levels of activity in the area, as well as giving local residents facilities to be proud of. It demonstrates our commitment to investing in our place, to ensure the prosperity of our people. This facility will help to improve the health and wellbeing of our community, young and old alike, existing and new participants."
Cllr Dan Poole, portfolio holder for community, safety and wellbeing, said: "It's great to see the all the facilities now open. The pavilion, artificial pitch and the grass pitches are important assets to the local community and we want to see them supporting as many people as possible, to lead an active and healthy life. Working with our partners we will see more opportunities for female footballers, walking football and for those with a disability to enjoy being active."
Residents can find out more about courses, including those at the Ringwood Community Hub, on the AFC Bournemouth website.