A total of nine football pitches are being created at the £3m development at Barnhurst Lane, Pendeford, including senior, junior and mini-pitches. There will also be a multi-use perimeter track while a Gaelic football pitch is planned for the summer months.
Work on the 26-acre development, which began in 2013, is progressing well, with the major construction elements completed and pitches seeded.
There has also been extensive tree and hedge planting, while wildflowers have been sown and ponds created for wildlife close to the River Penk on the edge of the site, which was previously used for grazing.
Contractors Cleveland Land Services will be returning to the site in the spring to complete landscaping and drainage, and continue work to establish grass cover on the pitches prior to their being brought into use for the first time in the autumn.
The grass must establish itself over a full growing season before it can be played on regularly, so the pitches will be available for occasional use this autumn then full use in 2016.
Meanwhile, engineers are currently on site installing energy efficient LED lighting in the 100-space car park, while a series of mosaics based on local themes are being created by the artist Steve Field in conjunction with Aldersley High School and local community groups. The mosaics will be incorporated into the surface of the perimeter track.
Councillor Elias Mattu, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: “We know how important sports and fitness facilities are to the people of Wolverhampton.
“This state-of-the-art development represents a major investment in sport in our city, and will have a major role to play in improving the health and well-being of the local population.
“I’m really impressed at the transformation which has taken place at Barnhurst Lane since work began in 2013 and I’m delighted that people will be able to use the new pitches for the first time this autumn.”
The development is supported by a £450,000 grant from the Football Foundation.