Wirral school set for £1.1m investment in facilities including new 3G football pitch

Clare Mount Specialist Sports College in Leasowe could soon see a new 3G football pitch built, similar to those on the Woodchurch Estate or Bidston, providing the school with a brand new facility. Councillors are being asked next week on September 22 to approve the new football plans.

The scheme will cost £1.1m in total with a likely grant from the Football Foundation of nearly £800,000 to allow the project to go ahead. Councillors are also being asked to allow officers to appoint contractors for the scheme.

Some 69% of the costs or up to £781,196 for the new pitch will be paid for by the Football Foundation but any costs above that are Wirral Council’s to pay.

A report before councillors on the education committee said: “The demand for football in Wirral is extremely high,” adding a shortage of pitches meant many clubs are “having to travel outside of Wirral to play and train” with demand far outstripping supply.

The local authority said the Wirral was a key focus for organisations like the Football Foundation, adding: “The borough has some of the highest demand for grassroots and competitive football in the country, but equally some of the lowest available facility provision.

“Wirral has some of the most deprived lower social economic groups, with associated anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder and poor health statistics. Football is considered an activity which engages people and can be an effective tool for addressing health inequalities and promoting well-being.”

While it isn’t the purpose of the new pitch, the local authority said commercial income would also be able to be generated for the school and invested back into grassroots football. A business plan for the new pitch said it expected to earn around £5,500 a year.

The current school site, formerly the Kingsway Academy, is governed by a private finance initiative contract (PFI) where private companies finance the building and maintenance of a new school which is then paid back. Wirral Council is currently looking at ways to buy itself out of the contract.

To remove the pitch specifically from any PFI responsibilities, the council would have to pay a one-off charge of just over £67,000. Councillors on the committee will also review the council’s action plan to improve its SEND (special education needs & disabilities) services and comply with a government notice issued.

Improvements have been made but the situation “remains challenging.” Some families are still having to wait a long time for help. While 87% of cases are now assessed in six weeks, only 8.7% of plans which outline a child’s needs were completed on time.

Some 195 cases have been open for more than a year which the local authority is focusing on, however one family had to wait nearly two years to get a plan completed.