£1.2million Oswaldtwistle sports site set to be opened by Blackpool and England legend Jimmy Armfield (From Lancashire Telegraph)

£1.2million Oswaldtwistle sports site set to be opened by Blackpool and England legend Jimmy Armfield

4:00pm Sunday 9th September 2012 in News

A ‘FANTASTIC’ new £1.2million sport facility for ‘tomorrow's football stars’ is to be unveiled by a Lancashire footballing legend later this month.

The prestigious new Heys Sports Complex in Oswaldtwistle includes a brand-new sports pavilion with changing rooms, education facilities and a car park.

Land on three levels has been drained, and playing surfaces upgraded to accommodate six football pitches of varying sizes.

The sports field will now provide second-to-none facilities for aspiring footballers from Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Hippings Methodist Primary, and Oswaldtwistle St Mary's FC.

Both schools will benefit from a much-needed sports facility, and Oswaldtwistle St Mary's, which is a charter-standard development club, will fulfil a long-held ambition to have their own base.

Broadcaster and former England captain Jimmy Armfield will officially open the facility later this month.

Paul Trickett, Rhyddings headteacher, said: "The re-opening of the field, with state-of-the-art changing facilities, will enable the school to once more bring the fields into curriculum use. This has not been possible for more than 10 years. We will benefit from pitches and training areas that are of extremely high quality, thus enabling the students to develop and use high levels of skills.”

Janice Lewer, headteacher of Hippings Methodist Primary School, said: "This is a very exciting time and we are pleased this area is being developed as it will be a valuable resource for the whole community."

Clive Yates, vice-chairman of Oswaldtwistle St Mary’s FC, added: “This gives us a fantastic opportunity to develop our club further and the chance to achieve Charter Standard Community Club status in the near future. This site has been crying out for development for many years, and we are absolutely thrilled that over five years of hard work has come to fruition."

The £1.2m development has been funded by: £571,590 from the Football Foundation, £400,000 from Lancashire County Council, £75,000 from Hyndburn Council and £150,000 from the two schools and St Mary's FC.