Yeovil United, soon to become Bridgwater United for the 2021/22 season, together with Bridgwater United Community Sports Trust, have revealed their plans, in conjunction with Sedgemoor District Council, for the renewal and rejuvenation of the underused land located off Bristol Road.
The pioneering project at Bristol Road Playing Fields will be the first of its kind providing a joint community and sports trust complex that will be the central location for Bridgwater United Community Sports Trust delivery programmes. The development will also establish a dedicated stadium and training facility for the Women’s first team of Bridgwater United and joint Youth Academies.
These plans will incorporate a state-of-the-art Women’s Stadium for Bridgwater United FC Women that will be able to accommodate up to 3,000 spectators with a more than adequate parking provision. Having a dedicated stadium reaffirms The Club’s ambition of competing in the top flight of the Women’s Football Pyramid, The Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League (FAWSL) and it will become a destination point for football across the region. The stadium will also be constructed to allow for expansion should the need arise in the future with all scheduled maintenance of the entire self-sustaining complex met by Bridgwater United Football Club and its Community Sports Trust.
As part of a wider overview of the project, improved footpaths and cycleways along Bristol Road are planned to provide improved pedestrian access to the proposed development, reducing the reliance on motor vehicles. Once inside the complex, people will be greeted by a community park with children’s play areas, activity areas, enjoyable walking and dog walking routes, picnic areas, provision of an outdoor gym and a mixture of 5-a-side 3G and multi-sport hard-court playing surfaces and community football pitches. The newly built pavilion will service the park with toilets, changing rooms, classrooms and a café, providing a safe destination to enjoy leisure and recreational activities for all to enjoy.
Both Bridgwater United Community Sports Trust and Bridgwater United Football Club are currently working towards a public consultation in partnership with Sedgemoor District Council with further details to be communicated at the appropriate time.
Chief Operating Officer Ewan Greenhill said, “This is a landmark complex for Bridgwater, Somerset, and the Country as a whole. Nowhere to our knowledge in the country does a Sports Trust have its own facility to deliver its practical life-changing sessions nor does a football club operating anywhere in the Women’s Football Pyramid have its own ground and training pitches. This complex will provide pioneering opportunities for all.”
