Pitchero Non League

.....the ongoing judicial review will soon be completed in the club’s favour.

Bell took over at the club’s AGM from John Hurst, who has been chairman for six years, and his prime aim is to see the club move to a new ground and take some big steps forward.

He praised Hurst's tenure and said: "Players and officials everwhere have the highest regard for John, and I can't thank him enough for what he has done for Consett AFC. I have spent most of the last twelve months, since I became involved with the club, on the new stadium project, while he got on with the job of running the club, and solving all the little problems that involves. I'm pleased to say he has agreed to stay involved as vice-chairman.

"On the new stadium front, we are in good shape and ready to go - all we are waiting for is the result of the judicial review into Durham County Council's decision to allow an educational academy to be built on the site of our current Belle Vue. The case was heard eight weeks ago now, and all we can do is hope and pray that it gets the go-ahead, as the club is being held back while we wait for the decision.

"We are confident we can attract fresh interest and new sponsors if we move from Belle Vue, which was built more than sixty years ago and has seen better days, to a new purpose-build facility which will be not just a football ground, but a community hub for the whole Consett area.

"We have thirty-six junior teams who will be based at the new ground, and apart from first-team games, they'll get priority use of the new facility. They'll receive coaching as well as training and playing games there, and I look forward to the day when the young players they produce start to progress into the first team.

"Off the field, the facility will be able to host bingo, poker, social evenings, wedding receptions, christenings, Christmas parties and business gatherings, so the whole community will see the benefit.

"The new academy will give our children the best education they could wish for, and I can't understand for the life of me why some people are still standing in its way. The academy at Stanley is well on the way to being built, and I can only look on in envy as I drive past it every day and see it progressing.

"The club has been around 113 years, and the current ground, which was built by volunteers just after the Second World War, is now badly outdated. We can build such community spirit again, but the go-ahead for the academy is the vital first step for that."

Tags: News | Consett

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