Northumberland town now has its first full size 3G artificial sports pitch after completion of £755,000 scheme

The new pitch is on the leisure centre site in Tweedmouth and will be suitable for football matches but with the flexibility to reconfigure it for training purposes or seven-a-side matches.

Outdoor football changing facilities will are incorporated into the new Berwick Sports Centre and floodlighting will be available to permit play on dark winter evenings.

It has been funded through a £500,000 grant from The FA and Government’s Football Foundation, with Northumberland County Council making up the £255,000 balance of the costs as part of its wider £22million investment in the new leisure centre.

Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, the council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said “Youth fitness and getting young people engaged in sport is more important than ever.

"This pitch will help our young people in Berwick and across north Northumberland with fantastic facilities to rival any other town north or south of the border.

"Links between the new sports and leisure facilities in Berwick and our new school build will be an important part of any plans going forward.”

Cllr Gregah Roughead, member for the Berwick West with Ord, added: "I am very pleased to see the new 3G pitch has been constructed, this is a fantastic assest for Berwick and our wider communities and is a much welcomed investment by many.

"It is worth noting this project would not have happened without the support of the sporting community and I woud like to thank Stuart Coyle and David Buglass, who are well known in Berwick football circles, as they were instrumental in writing the outline business case and key to helping the council liaise with local football teams which meant we could lobby the county council for more funding to successfully get this project over the line.”

Work is well underway on the new state-of-the-art leisure centre which will incorporate a five-lane, 25m swimming pool, a teaching pool and leisure pool and spa facilities. There will also be a sports hall, indoor bowls, fitness studios, cafe and a sensory room.

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