ACCRINGTON Stanley will receive a £27,900 a season in sponsorship from the council — in return for helping youngsters.

Hyndburn Borough Council is increasing its current sponsorship by £8,900 a season in exchange for more coaching and football opportunities for the borough’s children.

Councillors on the council’s cabinet have approved the sponsorship plan until 2011.

They have also asked officers to conduct a study into the possibility of using land at Bullough Park for a special community pitch.

Previously the council paid £19,000 a season in return for advertising and corporate benefits.

The new sponsorship deal also includes organised coaching sessions and motivational talks from club reps for young people.

Additionally, the council is considering developing an artifical turf pitch at Bullough Park and to lease an underused part of the park to the club for a training pitch. Council officers are now conducting a feasibility study into the plan.

Leader of the council, Coun Peter Britcliffe said: “Accrington Stanley are an important jewel in our community and we have supported them for some seasons now. The new plans are some very exciting ideas put forward by Accrington Stanley which will benefit everone in Hyndburn.”

However Councillor Malcolm Pritchard said there were better locations for new pitches: “Bullough Park is one of the wettest football pitches around, it was built on an old coal mine. A better location would be Foxhill Bank at Ossie as we have juts spent money on a new pavillion up there and there’s a big car park.”

Coun Britcliffe replied the feasibility study was the suggestion of Accrington Stanley but that all ideas would be taken on board.

The partnership comes just a month after Accrington Stanley were told to pull down a temporary spectator control room over planning regulations. The control room, which is essential for the stadium’s safety certificate, has to be dismantled and replaced with a permanent stucture at the end of the season.

As with the previous sponsorship arrangement, future costs will be offset against ground rent and hire costs for training facilities that the club would otherwise pay the council.