Newquay Tretherras is delighted to officially announce the opening of their fully refurbished and extended 3g astro pitch after being awarded a Premier League and FA Facilities Fund grant of over £363,000 following a competitive bid process.
The new facility re-build cost will exceed £500,000, funded by the grant award and monies saved by the school over the past 15 years since the last re-surface in 2004. The new facility comprises of a full-sized all-weather 3g Fieldturf pitch with new technical areas, designated spectator areas on two sides of the pitch, new 4.5m security fencing and recess areas for goal storage. The pitch will use the existing LED floodlighting facilities, which were upgraded in 2017 to reduce running costs, carbon footprint and improve the playing environment during the winter months for all users.
Newquay Tretherras was one of the first sites in Cornwall to install a sand-based astro turf in 1993 and then a new 3g surface in 2004. Both pitches have enjoyed extensive use by the school community, its primary school partners, local clubs, and wider community users, and Tretherras looks forward to continuing this partnership with all its users on the new pitch from the middle of September.
Work began on the 15th July with final handover on the 18th September. Newquay Tretherras wishes to thank the Football Foundation, RLF, FieldTurf Tarkett, S&C Slatter, and all their various sub-contractors in working seamlessly with the school in delivering this project safely and on time. The new pitch has been installed in the same location as the previous astro pitch, adjacent to the new school building (The Quay), adding another significant improvement to the sporting facilities available at Newquay Tretherras.
Recent other improvements to the overall site include; a state of the art activity Studio for the likes of dance, gymnastics, martial arts and trampolining. The school installed new flooring in the school sport hall the previous Summer which provided Sport England approved playing surfaces for Netball, Badminton, Indoor Tennis and Futsal. The sports hall is now the home of Newquay Netball which runs junior and senior teams with training and matches on Monday and Thursday evenings. Relocation of hard playing surfaces adjacent to the new astro will see six brand new floodlit tennis courts and four floodlit netball courts ready for use from January 2020. The site also offers a new coach education classroom, two new home/away changing rooms, official changing facilities and a fully equipped accessibility changing room and hygiene room.
The school is extending its provision to the wider community with its recent negotiation to operate the management of the adjacent Newquay Sports & Community Centre after a devolution agreement between Cornwall Council and GLL.
Mr Richard Higginson, Senior assistant Headteacher at Newquay Tretherras commented; “We are thrilled with this new facility and pleased that we can continue to develop and improve the facilities on offer here at Newquay Tretherras. This is a significant enhancement to our estates offer, not just for our students but the whole of the Newquay Area. The bid phase has allowed us to secure Newquay Youth AFC as a FA Key Partner Club, St Columb Major AFC and the CCFA. In addition to football the new astro will remain ‘Rugby Ready’ allowing clubs and the various county age groups to play contact rugby safely in training situations. The astro along with all our other sport facilities allows the school to provide the very best environment for our community to engage in healthy, active lifestyles within the very best sport facilities in the Cornwall.”
