Trowbridge Town Football Club (TTFC) is delighted to announce it has today [15 May] been granted planning permission by Wiltshire County Council for the construction of floodlights at its Woodmarsh ground.
The plans also feature two new dugouts for the Home and Away teams and when implemented, will give the Club the necessary improvements to progress to Step 6 of the non-league football pyramid and beyond. Promotion will also be subject to on-pitch success such as that achieved last year when the first team were champions in the Wiltshire Senior League.
Submitted to Wiltshire County Council on 5th December 2023, the plans drew support from more than 100 supporters, members and neighbours as well as Trowbridge Town Council and North Bradley Parish Council.Permission has been granted after intensive work with Wiltshire Council’s Ecology Officer and consultation with Natural England, to ensure that the floodlights will have no adverse effect on the local wildlife, particularly the rare Lesser Horseshoe, Greater Horseshoe and Bechstein’s bats that fly above the hedges bordering the ground.
The lighting plan has now been approved as conforming to the Trowbridge Bat Mitigation Strategy.The permission is subject to conditions such as planting extra hedgerows and limiting the use of the lights. The club expect the lights to be typically used for one or two games per week. In order to fund the construction of both the floodlights and dugouts, the Club will need to embark on a major fundraising effort, further details of which will be communicated in due course.
The estimated cost of the project is £65,000, with construction by Sports Lighting, a leading UK provider of floodlighting systems, to a scheme designed by Signify, a multinational lighting corporation. At least half of the total must be raised by July in order for the Club to proceed at this stage with construction.
Club Chairman Andrew Meaden said: “This is a very proud day, not just for Trowbridge Town Football Club, or for me personally, but for the entire area.
“Firstly, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everybody who has backed this project and bought into the vision for what we are trying to create, which is a ground that will not only enable the progression of our town’s senior football team back to where it belongs, but also provide a facility that better serves our youth football system.
“It sounds like such a simple thing, but with the floodlights, we are creating opportunities for local children to begin their footballing journey with us aged eight and stay right through into a senior playing career in their thirties and beyond.
“We can also expand our youth programme to include floodlit leagues and cups, providing even more opportunities for local players in grassroots football. We are also evaluating possibilities to recruit a coach and extend our programme to include Under 6s football in the near future.
“Secondly, to each and every one of the local authorities and community groups that have consulted with us, supported us and guided us through the process, I’m very grateful to them for both their healthy and constructive challenges, and ultimately their encouragement.
“Thirdly, a special thanks to Gary Caldicott and David Vigar, who have both expertly and efficiently managed the planning application process, and provided constant and welcome support to the Club and to myself throughout each step of the project.
“And lastly, to the rest of the Club’s committee and supporters. They’ve been the lifeblood of this Club since we reformed in 1999, and this is a landmark day for all of us. We’ve had quite a journey already, and we’ve got an equally exciting one ahead in the coming months and years.
“Of course, we now face an entirely new challenge, as we seek to raise the funds for construction, but I’m confident that this is now our biggest hurdle overcome, and as one Club, one community, we can now begin to tackle the next steps knowing we are building something that will serve the local area for years to come.”
