Hartlepool football club bid to build 'absolutely essential' new pavilion

Plans have been lodged to provide a new sports pavilion to support a popular youth football club.
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Proposals have been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning department to create a building providing “welfare, refreshment and shelter” at St Francis football pitches in Hartlepool’s Rossmere Way.

The plans, from Trevor Robinson, at Hartlepool St Francis Junior Football Club, state currently the pitches are used by “hundreds of children” from the club each week with no pavilion or clubhouse at the site.

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A design and access statement from The Football Architect, on behalf of the applicant, states the pavilion plans are “absolutely essential for the long-term viability of the club”.

St Francis Junior Football Club want to build a pavilion at their home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.St Francis Junior Football Club want to build a pavilion at their home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.
St Francis Junior Football Club want to build a pavilion at their home in Rossmere Way, Hartlepool.

It said: “The objectives of the project include providing new facilities that will be able to offer improved welfare, shelter and refreshment at the most fundamental of levels.

“However, secondary objectives include establishing a clear and visible presence on site, creating a sense of ownership and increasing dwell time for users to help foster a sense of club and by extension also community.

“Without providing these ancillary facilities there is a very real risk of young people leaving the club and ultimately missing out on all the benefits participating in organised sports can bring.”

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The proposed unit would be single storey in height and incorporate club colours and badges to give it a “unique identity”.

The pavilion would feature a social space, kitchen, office, storage areas and toilet facilities, along with outdoor seating, and it is the club’s hope it will prove a key location for young people in the community.

A planning statement said: “The club’s ultimate ambition is to help to support and positively change this suburb of Hartlepool and its surrounding areas for years to come, putting the local kids’ football teams at the heart of the community.

“A key part of achieving the overall ambition is to provide improved built facilities on site, making the club the location of choice for young people wanting to engage with sport.”

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Current welfare facilities on the site are portable toilets while three shipping containers offer storage.

Pitches at the site include one full size 11-a-side pitch plus several junior pitches at 7 and 9 a side, as well as mini-soccer tot pitch areas.

A decision is expected to be made on the proposals next month.