Council to restore 48 neighbourhood football pitches across Wrenhaven over two years

On the small pitch behind the terraced houses of Old Quay, the goal frame is bolted to a stone wall and the paint has long since flaked off. Children still use it every evening. It is one of 48 neighbourhood pitches that Wrenhaven City Council plans to restore over the next two years, in a programme budgeted at €3.1 million.

The work ranges from simple repairs to full rebuilds. Some pitches need new goals and nets; others need drainage, fresh turf or resurfacing of hard courts. Eleven sites will get low-level lighting so that they can be used safely in the darker months, and several will have fencing replaced where balls regularly end up in gardens or on roads. Changing facilities will not be part of the scheme, the council said, because most of the sites are small open spaces used for informal play rather than league fixtures.

Residents helped choose the first sites

The council asked residents and grassroots clubs to report problems through an online survey earlier this year. More than 2,300 responses came in, and the first 20 pitches were chosen based on how often they are used and how poor their condition was rated. Northfield, Millbrook and the Saltings account for half of the first phase.

Andrew Kowalczyk, the council's head of parks and open spaces, said the aim was to bring every site up to a basic standard rather than create a handful of showpieces. "A good small pitch near home does more for a child than a great big one across the city," he said. "These are the places where most people first kick a ball."

We are not trying to build stadiums, we are trying to make sure no one twists an ankle in a pothole.

• 48 pitches will be restored in two phases of 20 and 28 sites.

• Eleven sites will receive low-energy lighting.

• Local clubs can apply to help maintain pitches in return for booking priority.

Rosa Delgado, who runs an under-9s team in Millbrook, welcomed the plan but said maintenance would be the real test. "We had new goals six years ago and the nets were gone in a season," she said. "Fixing them is one thing. Keeping them fixed is what matters." Her club, she added, would be happy to help with upkeep. The council said each restored pitch would be inspected four times a year, and that the first works are due to begin before the end of the season.