£550k the cost of pitch works

They are expected to upgrade the park, which had a senior grass pitch and changing unit after surveyors raised health and safety concerns and said the ‘surface life’ had expired.

The council have been told by independent sports surface testing company Sports Lab Ltd, that it would take around £550,000 to upgrade it and five other play facilities.

Councillor David Herron hopes work will take place on all the synthetic surface playing pitches but fears that money may be an issue.

“It’s all very well saying what needs to be done but there is a question of money,” he said. ”If we don’t get the money now we may never get it and many of these projects may go on the backburner especially, when Banbridge joins this supercouncil.

“If we don’t the money now we may never get it.”

Surveyors found that many of Banbridge’s pitches were either ‘beyond economic repair’ or in a ‘distressed condition.’

Sports Labs also found that £100,000 would need to be spent at the home of Banbridge Hockey Club, Havelock Park as the playing surface is beyond economic repair. Havelock is a floodlit synthetic pitch, senior and junior soccer pitches and a synthetic athletics training track.

It is estimated that around £70,000 would need to be spent at Banbridge LC, King George V Tennis Courts and Ferris Park. At Banbridge LC it was deemed that it was in a distressed condition.

At the King George Tennis Courts, a sports complex which contains a bowling green as well as three synthetic tennis courts (two floodlit) and a top quality pavilion, surveyors found that the courts did not comply with LTA requirements and the surface deemed beyond economic repair.

Ferris Park which has a playing surface ‘beyond economic repair’ has extensive facilities, including a full-sized, sand-based hockey pitch with flood lights, two flood-lit tennis courts, a grass football pitch and a changing pavilion.

Around £60,000 will need to be spent to upgrade Dromore CC Courts whose playing surface is ‘generally beyond economic repair’ and its courts ‘do not comply with Lawn Tennis Association requirements.’