New Milton Town FC scores £135k changing rooms revamp

ABOUT £135,000 is being pumped into a complete revamp of New Milton Football Club’s near-30-year-old changing rooms.

New energy-efficient heating, ventilation and hot water systems – replacing those which have been in place since the Fawcett’s Field facility was first built in 1992 – form a substantial part of the project, with extensive refurbishment also set to be carried out.

The cost is around £16,000 over the £120,000 the town council had originally allocated for the scheme from its 2020/21 budget.

But estates and facilities manager Mark Jeffries told members the extra expenditure could be met by utilising general savings made between April and September.

He said: “The building is 28 years old and has had no upgrade or redecoration during this period. This is an opportunity to upgrade the building for the next 30 years.”

Speaking during a recent online meeting of the finance and general purposes committee, Cllr Geoffrey Blunden, who chairs the amenities committee, shared his excitement at the scheme’s green nature.

Eco-friendly aspects include solar panels powering the heating and ventilation system for most of the year.

Hot water for the 29 showers and taps would come from four externally-mounted boilers with much-reduced emissions and expected to use around 30% less gas than the current system.

There will also be a complete overhaul of the building’s electrical systems, which will in-clude installing new LED lighting in its eight changing rooms, at a cost of just over £11,560.

As the revamp was put through during November’s online full town council meeting, Cllr Blunden said: “This project demonstrates New Milton Town Council’s commitment to its environmental sustainability action plan.”

The work is set to start this month (December) for completion by February, subject to Covid-secure risk assessments.