An amateur football club has been awarded £5,000 to help bolster plans for a new £1million 3G pitch facility at its East Lancashire home.

Great Harwood Rovers has been awarded the cash to progress plans to install a new 3G facility at the club’s premises on Harwood New Road.

This is a large project that will require £1m of funding and the community grant, awarded by Hyndburn Council, represents the next step in achieving that.

Great Harwood Rovers are an FA Charter Standard Community Club, based at the Townfield Mobility Arena.

Run by local volunteers for children and founded in 1975, the club now comprises of 21 teams for girls and boys ranging in age from under 7s to under 18s. 

The mini league also provides a great introduction to football for kids aged four to six-years-old.

The club is now at capacity for teams, and a 3G pitch would enable extra capacity in all weathers, plus give the club the flexibility to accommodate rugby teams.

Liaising with the Football Foundation who would provide most of the funding, and Accrington Stanley Community Trust who would manage the facility, Amazing Accrington has supported the club by writing bids for grant funding to enable the project to progress.

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The £5,000 award, from Hyndburn Council, will be used towards the cost of a plan and feasibility study, ensuring suitability of the location, which will secure funding from the Football Foundation for the construction of the new facility.

The benefit to the local area will be huge, opening up lots of possibilities for sports inclusion.

Mark Pickup, trustee at Great Harwood Rovers, said: "This is great news for the club, and is the next step to securing our own 3G facility which is really needed in the local area.

“We have teams who have to travel out of the borough to play local derbies, which is not ideal and it will set Great Harwood Rovers up for the future.

"The inclusion of rugby is a superb idea, as there aren't any facilities in East Lancashire for them to train in all weathers. Thank you to all involved in the bid, and thanks for Hyndburn Borough Council for supporting this project."

You can see more about Great Harwood Rovers here: www.ghrfc.com