The desperate shortage of football pitches in Newport could force the town’s leading team to look elsewhere to play its home matches, the club’s chairman has warned.
Newport now has just one full size football pitch, on Shuker Fields, following the closure of the Audco pitches earlier this year.
There were two high quality pitches at Audco, but the land is now earmarked for 215 houses.
That has led to even more people using Shuker – and Newport Town FC chairman Phil Lewis said it is now a muddy and bobbly mess.
He said: “We have considered finding a new pitch elsewhere, but we haven’t spoken to anyone outside of Newport yet.
“Shuker is so over played that it’s completely dug up.
“We’d like to stay in Newport, of course, but there simply is not a pitch good enough.
“This town needs more pitches. Wellington, Bridgnorth, Shifnal, Whitchurch – they all have proper facilities.
“It is a crying shame a town of this size which is football mad doesn’t have the same.” Shuker Fields normally plays host to two matches each weekend and occasionally a mid-week school fixture as well.
And each Saturday morning up to 350 children from Nova Football Club use it to train.
It is also used by the public, the Newport Carnival and earlier this year a travelling circus set up shop on the fields.
Shuker Fields is owned by Telford & Wrekin Council but maintained by Nova at a cost of around £7,000 a year.
Nova chairman David Middleton said discussions were ongoing with Telford & Wrekin Council about how to improve the facility.
He said: “A lot of people use Shuker Fields and we are struggling to look after it.
“We know it’s not in a great state. We are looking at working with the council to try and improve it and we have a meeting with leaders in January.
“It would be nice for there to be more recreation areas in Newport in general.”
The next closest pitch is at Harper Adams University College in Edgmond.
Two new all-weather football pitches are planned in Newport as part of the proposed developments, one at Wellington Road and one off Station Road.
But Dave Matthews, the former lease holder of the Audco pitches, said grass pitches were required.
He added: “If the children at Nova want to play football when they turn 18 there is nowhere for them to go.
“The council needs to do something about it because it’s diabolical.”
By Sean Wozencroft