Watch freestyle champion Liv Cooke check out the new £2.6m football facility opening soon in Bamber Bridge

Two new 3G pitches as well as a new sports pavillion and changing rooms have been build on land at Withy Grove Park, off Brindle Road, as part of a deal between South Ribble Borough Council and the Football Foundation.

>>>Click here to read more about the background to the scheme

One of the pitches is already finished, with work almost done on the second.

When complete, both pitches will be available for 5, 7 and 9-a-side matches and can be floodlit.

Leyland freestyle champion Liv Cooke was invited to check out the new facilities this month as part of her role as ambassador for the Football Foundation.

In a video showing the new site, Liv says: "Oh it looks beautiful, doesn't it?

"It is looking incredible."

The video also shows her examining the 3G surface, exploring the changing rooms and seating facilities for families of players.

What's the background?

The Playing Pitch Hub as the project is known, gained planning permission in January 2021 having initially been approved by South Ribble's Cabinet the previous October.

South Ribble Borough Council has backed the build, securing a grant of £816,127 from the Football Foundation towards its creation.

State-of-the-art

Councillor Mick Titherington said: "As a council we have invested a significant amount of money into the development of this facility because we know just how much our community needs it. There are already some 244 football teams playing on formal pitches in the borough - including 48 adult teams, 60 youth teams and 136 mini-mixed teams. However, there are currently only five full-sized artificial pitches in the borough and only two available on weekends.”

He added: “This professional-standard facility will be something we can be proud to have in our borough and I cannot wait to see the facility up and running and to see people right across our community getting more active this summer."

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation said: “This project is a great example of what can be achieved when a local authority works with the Football Foundation, alongside people like Liv who are passionate about improving grassroots facilities.

“Thanks to the investment of the Premier League, The FA and Sport England, better grassroots football facilities are having a transformative impact on people’s physical and mental health, bringing communities together and benefiting local economies across England.”

What else is there?

In addition to the pavilion and 3G pitches the existing Leisure Centre car park is to be extended to the south to provide an additional 77 car spaces - taking the total to 206, including 10 disabled spaces - and eight of these spaces will include electric vehicle charging facilities.

Two minibus spaces and two coach lay-bys will also be created along with 12 cycle hoops accommodating 24 cycles. Meanwhile, Brindle Road junction is to be re-modelled and improved.

A substantial tree planting scheme has been approved for the scheme and in total, 144 new trees are to be planted on site along with more than 1,000 whips (young trees) which will grow alongside them.

The date of opening has not yet been revealed.