‘Homeless’ Bideford youth football team could get its own pitch at last

A youth football club in Bideford that boasts 400 members could be getting its first dedicated home since it was formed in 2011.

For well over a decade Bideford AFC Youth has tried to find a solution with Torridge District Council as it says the lack of a facility is holding back the club’s expansion

The club, which is the largest youth football club in the district with 20 teams, currently has limited access to quality pitches, transport difficulties for players and struggles with storage and volunteer retention.

But now the district council has hatched a plan to allocate sports pitches on the new Winsford Park development at Abbotsham Road where hundreds of new homes are being built, so the club can have a permanent base and a regular place to train and hold matches.

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At a meeting of the council strategy and resources committee on Monday, September 8 the idea was supported in principle by members pending further details coming forward about land ownership, lease arrangements and a management plan.

The Winsford Park development is under construction and the two pitches, one full size and one half size, are expected, in the first instance, to be handed to TDC by the developer with the aim of passing them over to another suitable group.

The pitches are part of a range of community facilities and open space planned for the site which the developer is providing under a legal agreement with the council called a section 106.

Councillors heard the youth football club was well-organised and financially stable, managed by an experienced and diverse operating committee and a board. The committee included several long-serving professionals, ensuring strong governance, sustainable financial management, and strategic planning.

Approximately 1,500 people from the community are involved with the club.

At the meeting, Councillor Chris Leather raised concerns about the availability of the pitches for other people living in that area and feared they may be kept out if the club had control of it.

He was told it was a ‘valid concern’ but that under a lease agreement there would be details of how many hours the site would be open to the wider community.

Council officers said talks had been taking place with the developer but this was the ‘beginning of a journey’ and there would be issues to overcome down the line.

Lead member for leisure, Cllr Lyndon Piper said Bideford AFC Youth was the obvious choice to take on the pitches and lots of early engagement was taking place.

A similar situation was in place at Holsworthy’s Stanhope Park where the TDC owned football pitch was used by Holsworthy Youth Football under licence, he said.

The site will come with funding from the developer to provide facilities such as a community hall and changing rooms

Councillors heard that a dedicated home for Bideford AFC Youth would become a central community hub for youth football, allowing seamless progression from youth to adult levels.

It would encourage healthy lifestyles and social inclusion through greater access to sports for all members of the community and enable the club to apply for external funding from organisations such as the FA, the Football Foundation, and Sport England, which would help further develop and maintain the site.