Boost in Hartlepool football club's bid to build new premises

Councillors have backed plans to support a popular youth football club in Hartlepool by granting them a new lease to their current playing pitches.
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Hartlepool St Francis Football Club currently leases land at Rossmere Way, Hartlepool, from Hartlepool Borough Council after a 25-year agreement was granted in 2006.

Last year the council planning department approved proposals for the club to build a new sports pavilion and clubhouse to provide a “suitable modern facility” for players, coaches, volunteers and spectators.

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The club, which has 17 teams, indicated the cost of the proposed works will be in the region of £150,000 and is in the process of making a grant application to the Football Foundation to cover around £80,000.

St Francis Football Club's home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.St Francis Football Club's home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.
St Francis Football Club's home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.

However due to the type of grant, the Football Foundation requires the club to have at least 25 years unexpired on their lease, with just nine years remaining currently.

The club intend to cover the remainder of the cost for their plans directly through their own fundraising activities.

The council finance and policy committee on Monday unanimously backed approving the grant of a new lease to the club for the land, with the exact details remaining confidential under the Local Government Act due to “information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person”.

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Cllr Shane Moore, the council’s leader, said: “It enables a really good local club that does an awful lot with the local community to enhance what they’re already doing.”

Cllr Brenda Harrison also praised the history of the club in the area and the benefits they give to people young and old.