June Update

I was fortunate enough to visit the site last week on a nice day and was accompanied round the Leigh East Clubhouse. The shell is now complete and the contractors are well on with fit out. It is not until you go into the building that you realise how big it is. It is going to be very, very special. The colour of the bricks and the design just shout quality to you and I can’t wait to see the looks on the youngsters’ faces when they visit it for the first time. It will be complete very shortly.

The site cabins at the Leigh East Clubhouse will be moving shortly to the main development for the college, the sports hall and swimming pool.

The roadways that McAlpines are constructing as part of the infrastructure are now taking shape.

Having spoken to the Architects yesterday, it is obvious that the ethos of providing the best quality in economical packages is beginning to pay off and will undoubtedly result in a development that is not only pleasing to the eye, but will be done in such a way that, through the aesthetic appeal of the buildings and the landscaping, it will be very welcoming to the whole community.

When you apply, as we have done, for grants as is the case with Sport England, you are obliged to construct things to a high quality but I think that was already in our minds and so it is no difficulty to surpass grant funding bodies’ requirements.

Leigh’s prospects are on the up. This is evidenced by the fact that a hotel chain wants to build a 150-bed hotel on the site. This all adds to the local economy through jobs and footfall and proves that others, even with their commercial hard heads, believe that the Village and the town can produce the goods.

The invitation to tender for the Stadium has now gone out to several contractors and the tenders will be back with us early next month. The design allows standing at one end only (the north stand) for 2,065 spectators out of a total of 10,000. This provision reflects the wishes of all the interested parties, the clubs and the Stadium Company that will run the site.

The north stand can be quite easily and cost-effectively changed to become an all-seater if that is required at some time in the future.

Our aspiration for the Leigh and District Sports Partnership to become a Trust is proving a little tricker than we thought, but we are nearly there.

Slowly but surely all the outstanding issues as regards this complex development are being resolved. We seem to be on schedule and on budget and you will start to see, during the course of this year, a lot of the development becoming visible, which is when I think most people will realise the scale and appeal of the project and the positive impact it will have on people of all ages.
 

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