Swansea Valley Football Club Forced to Use All-Weather Pitches in Another County, Councillor Says

A SWANSEA Valley football club with hundreds of members has to use all-weather pitches in another county when rain puts theirs out of action, a councillor said.
Cllr Matthew Bailey wrote to Swansea Council’s cabinet in May asking it to consider a financial contribution towards a new 3G pitch at Coed Gwilym Park, Clydach.
The park is home to Clydach FC, which Cllr Bailey said has 600-plus male and female members and has secured funding for new changing rooms and supporter stands. He said the club has also taken on maintenance of the two grass pitches.
His May letter to cabinet said: “However, despite this progress, the lack of a 3G pitch remains a significant barrier to further development. Welsh weather – often wet throughout the year – frequently results in matches being cancelled due to poor pitch conditions. This can deny hundreds of participants the opportunity to play in any given week.
“To mitigate this the club is forced to rely on 3G facilities outside the county, most commonly at Cwrt Herbert in Neath Port Talbot. Many sessions are oversubscribed or unavailable, and families face increased travel time and cost. Some children are unable to attend at all due to parental work commitments, lack of transport, or financial constraints.”
The independent councillor said Clydach FC has drawn up detailed plans for a 3G pitch and liaised with council officers and that a contribution from the authority – as it has provided towards other 3G pitches in the county – would help the club unlock other sources of funding.
Cllr Bailey’s letter added that he’d made a commitment when elected in Clydach in 2022 to try to improve local sports facilities – particularly a new 3G pitch if possible.
He sent cabinet a further letter in July and received a response the following day from council leader Rob Stewart asking for details of the club’s representatives and saying he was more than happy to meet them to discuss their aspirations.
Cllr Bailey, who’d like the council to consider a £250,000-plus contribution, said the meeting still hadn’t taken place. He also wondered if some of the proceeds from the council’s recently-agreed sale of the Swansea.com Stadium to Swansea City AFC could be used.
Cllr Stewart said the council was hoping shortly to meet representatives of sports clubs which used Coed Gwilym Park and also Friends of Coed Gwilym Park – which leases it from the authority – now that people were back from summer leave.
The Labour leader said: “Cllr Bailey’s intervention on this is somewhat bizarre, and no doubt linked to next year’s local elections, but the reality is that we have been working together with a friends of group and others and have heavily invested in the park for years.
“Every area of Swansea has benefited from significant investment in sports facilities and new play areas for the community to enjoy. That will continue.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​