This week I was delighted to welcome Tracey Crouch MP, the Sports Minister, to Pendle. While the Minister was in Pendle I took the opportunity to show her the newly reopened Whitehough Outdoor Centre facilities in Barley which has recently been reopened under the ownership of Burnley FC in the Community. A 22-acre facility nestled in the wonderful Pendle countryside, which many Pendle residents will remember well from their school days. Sleeping up to 90 on-site they can accommodate both large and small groups. The site also includes two classrooms, a large dining room, an extensive camping field and a 40-seater conference suite.
The Minister could see first-hand some of the activities available at the centre as well as being given an update on the wider work of Burnley FC in the Community, the charitable arm of Burnley FC. This includes the new £4m leisure facility at Brierfield Mill which is due to open later this year. These new state of the art sporting facilities in the heart of Brierfield, will provide a wide range of leisure and sporting opportunities not just for Brierfield but for people from across our local area.
After visiting Whitehough, the Minister and I met with Colne FC to hear about their development and growth plans. Colne FC is a club entirely run by volunteers and they are rightly proud of the club, the work it does and its place within our community. The club updated us on their ground redevelopment plans, which includes creating a 3G playing surface, new changing rooms and function room.
Every year the government, along with the FA and Premier League put over £40 million into the Football Foundation to fund facility developments such as 3G surfaces. As recently as October last year, we saw the a new £638,000 3G pitch at Saints John Fisher and Thomas More RC High School in Colne thanks to a grant from the Football Foundation.
Facilities like Whitehough and clubs like Colne FC play a pivotal role in our local community. Whether its giving people to an opportunity to try activities they haven’t done before or providing competitive sport to both participate in we should never under estimate the benefits these facilities have.