Lymington Town FC given March 2023 deadline to build new stand
LYMINGTON Town football club has six months to build a new stand for 100 spectators after being promoted to the Southern League.
The club says it must erect a new covered area to accommodate the extra spectators attending games to comply with its health and safety rules.
It has already made other improvements to the ground: repainting the existing stand, putting hard standing behind dugouts and concreting an extra pathway, along with installing a new turnstyle system.
But it said in correspondence to Lymington Town Council, which owns the ground, that it now has to “comply” with rules applied to clubs in the National League System, which the team is now in, and build the new stadium by 21st March, 2023.
“The club must undertake various steps to meet and improve the ground,” it said. “Many of these measures are for health and safety reasons due to the larger number of spectators.”
Its reserve development under-23 team has also been promoted to the Hampshire CDL Premier Division. The club says it also wants to erect a fence at the car park edge behind the Avenue Road goal.
Lymington Town Council has backed moves by the club to improve the ground and has agreed to submit a planning application to NFDC requesting permission to make the changes.
The club has already commissioned an architect to draw up plans for the stand and fencing, which will be around 10ft high and will enclose the ground, separating the car park for “safety reasons”.
The ground is shared with the cricket club, which is said to be “supportive of the changes”.
Development will be funded through grants from the Premier League Stadium Fund and “other” sources.
Lymington Town FC has told the council that it intends to stay in the new league, saying: “The club is the only local football club in the New Forest area with a first team playing at this level, and has performed well in its first ever Southern League season.”
It also says it hopes to be promoted again: “The club’s ambition is to reach the Southern Premier Division by 2026 as part of the targets for the next 10-year plan.”
