Grass pitches in Blackpool are still fenced off a year after they were meant to reopen

Fishers Field in South Shore is still fenced off a year after it was meant to reopen.
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The grass, which usually hosts football matches for local grassroots team Foxhall Juniors, was ripped up in 2017 so waterworks could be carried out.

A year later, signs were put up saying "no access" would be allowed from June 2018 to May 2019 so the pitches could be renovated.

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But the field remains fenced off, although the council's signs have been taken down.

Fishers Field, on the corner of Highfield Road and St Annes Road in South Shore, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Signs saying the football pitches and popular dog walking spot would reopen in May 2019 were no longer there (Picture: Daniel Martino for JPIMedia)Fishers Field, on the corner of Highfield Road and St Annes Road in South Shore, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Signs saying the football pitches and popular dog walking spot would reopen in May 2019 were no longer there (Picture: Daniel Martino for JPIMedia)
Fishers Field, on the corner of Highfield Road and St Annes Road in South Shore, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Signs saying the football pitches and popular dog walking spot would reopen in May 2019 were no longer there (Picture: Daniel Martino for JPIMedia)

The authority has blamed the delay on a "wet season" last year, which it said meant the "seeding that had taken place to improve the grounds didn't take as well as expected".

A spokesman said: "Therefore further remedial work was undertaken in January of this year. Fishers Field will reopen when the new junior football season starts in September, subject to any new guidelines at that time.

"The pitches have been fully renovated since [the] closure to provide high standard grass football pitches."

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Water firm United Utilities started work to build an underground storage tank beneath the field in 2017, and a year later said it would "install new drainage, replace the top soil, and sow new seed" - and hoped to "hand the area back to the council" last spring.

Signs were put up in 2018, warning people they wouldn't be able to access the field until May 2019 (Picture: JPIMedia)Signs were put up in 2018, warning people they wouldn't be able to access the field until May 2019 (Picture: JPIMedia)
Signs were put up in 2018, warning people they wouldn't be able to access the field until May 2019 (Picture: JPIMedia)

A spokeswoman said: "We’ve finished all our work there and we handed the field back to the council last summer."

Foxhall Juniors has been using alternative pitches since the renovation work started, including at Common Edge, Mereside, and Stanley Park, though all junior games and training sessions across the Fylde coast were axed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The club, which has 20 teams with more than 300 players aged four to 18, was granted planning permission for a new clubhouse, complete with changing rooms, a kitchen, and community room, late last year.

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Chairman Shaun Louth said: "We are a non-profit club and aim to be the cheapest in Blackpool. Also, we have a hardship case for single parents, or those on benefits, to make it affordable so no child has to miss out on a sport they love."

The field, pictured in late 2018, when it was being reseededThe field, pictured in late 2018, when it was being reseeded
The field, pictured in late 2018, when it was being reseeded

The field was also a popular spot for dog walkers, with some ignoring signs to stay off the grass until it was fenced off completely.

One said at the time: "There isn't anywhere else to walk your dog around here. You can't exactly go on the beach, can you?"

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