Delight as £250,000 grant is awarded to Leigh Park sports project

Sport England has given £265,000 of National Lottery funding to Front Lawn Recreation Ground, off Somborne Drive in Leigh Park.

The cash will go towards a £1.3m project to transform the site.

The money will help fund new changing rooms, a new full-size 3G football pitch; and a new multi-use games area.

Footballers of all abilities will be able to play on three new pitches, including one for mini soccer and one five-a-side grass football pitch.

There will be an extra 57 parking spaces.

The site was one of 19 projects across England to receive funding from Sport England’s £6.5m Improvement Fund.

Charles Johnston, Sport England property director, said: ‘Thankfully as a nation we are becoming more active.

‘Meeting this demand can be challenging, but thanks to National Lottery funding we can help organisations like the Front Lawn Recreation Ground offer the kind of sporting experience that local people want.’

Last December Havant Borough Council formally approved the plans for the makeover of the site.

The council is putting £250,000 into the project, with the rest of the cash expected to come from Sport England and the Football Foundation.

Havant is currently the least active borough in Hampshire.