Hartlepool Sunday league football side kicks off at cost of council facilities

With the new season due to start in weeks, The Gillen Arms who play in Hartlepool Sunday Football League has hit out at the quality of facilities on the Rift House Recreation Ground.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s charges for the use of the ground next season is £414.

But the council have defended the costs, saying they are less than last year, and they also have a programme of accommodation maintenance.

Gillen Arms manager Callum Foster says facilities at The Rec have got worse in recent years despite promises of new changing rooms.

The side is also unhappy at a new £30 charge to play pre-season friendly matches on council-owned pitches saying those on 'The Rec’ have not yet been marked and the changing rooms are out of action due to the coronavirus situation.

Callum said: “I just feel that we don’t get any value for the money.

“The fee has gone down this year but nothing has changed for the last five plus years.

"We keep getting promised new changing rooms but there has been no improvements to the facilities.

"They just degrade every year.”

And speaking of the new £30 friendly fee, he added: “The pitches are not marked out yet. Twenty-two friends could just go down and play but now the council are trying to charge the teams £30.

"No one has given me a reason for this fee. There are no facilities.”

Callum argued the fees go against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new get fit campaign.

"Especially after the pamdemic when everyone is scraping around for money this is more costs coming out,” he said.

But John Cooper, secretary of Hartlepool Sunday League defended the council saying the costs are cheaper than other local leagues and the local authority is paying for new goal posts at Rift House.

He said: “The league has increased by eight teams from 22 to 30. We’re going from strength to strength.

"The council have helped us by giving us extra pitches on The Rec.”

And Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “We have managed to help reduce costs for teams for the coming season by carrying forward fixture credits from 2019/20, due to the lockdown at the end of last season.

"This has been arranged with and through the league. The league, not the Council, will allocate this. In effect, teams will therefore benefit from a discount on their overall fees for the coming season.

"Fees for 2020/21 have also been held at 2019/20 levels. Our fees for the coming season at Rift House are £414, to which Hartlepool Sunday league adds affiliation and insurance costs/fees plus cup competition entry fees, as appropriate, totalling £135.

“As a Council, we currently spend over £120,000 a year maintaining pitches and a cyclical programme of changing accommodation maintenance is undertaken to ensure that internal décor and fittings are in good order.

"Any unplanned maintenance requirements are addressed promptly. However, current Government guidance in relation to social distancing and ventilation means we are unable to open changing accommodation.

“We have also invested in new goals and nets and will increase the number of pitches we maintain at Rift House this season, to accommodate a growth in the league.

"We acknowledge the great work carried out by Hartlepool Sunday League to generate this increase in teams.”

The council added pitches have been intentionally left unmarked to protect them from overuse in the close season, but will be marking out two pitches to enable pre-season friendlies and cup fixtures to be booked.

The spokesman added: "Prior to previous seasons we have not allowed pre-season friendlies on sites other than the 3G pitch at Brierton, where teams using the pitch were charged at the full rate – more than twice the proposed cost of £30.

"In effect, more facilities are now being made available to teams in pre-season and at a significantly reduced price, reflecting the fact that changing accommodation cannot currently be offered.

"Leagues and teams are advised by Durham County FA that they are not allowed to use pitches informally without the landowner’s permission, as this would invalidate a team’s insurance should an injury or accident occur.”

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