TROWBRIDGE Town Football Club is making “good progress” with plans to improve its facilities at Woodmarsh with the goal of propelling its first team into a higher league.
The club also wants to have the capability of running an U18s team playing in the Wiltshire Youth Floodlit League from season 2024/25.
Trowbridge Town FC’s first team finished top of the Wiltshire Senior League’s Premier Division with 80 points after winning its last four matches.
They topped the table six points ahead of their nearest rivals, Devizes Town FC, having won 26 of their 30 games, with only two games drawn and two games lost.
But the club was unable to gain promotion to the Toolstation Western League One/Uhlsport Hellenic Division One (Step 6) because its ground needs improvements to meet grading standards.
Trowbridge Town FC chairman Andy Meaden said: “We are the largest town in the Wiltshire Senior League with a ground that lacks floodlights but we are working on putting that right, in fact there are village teams with better facilities than we have.
“We will be submitting plans this month to Wiltshire Council and seeking approval from Trowbridge Town Council, which owns Woodmarsh, to install eight new floodlight pylons.
“They will have a low Lux rating so that we don’t impact on the local wildlife, particularly the bats, and cause impact issues for our nearby neighbours.”
The club is hoping to have the floodlights installed by the end of spring next year, by which time it will have completed work on other ground improvements.
Work has already started to improve the drainage and quality of the playing surfaces on the main adult pitch and the main youth pitch. Two other pitches will undergo similar treatment when funds permit next year.
The club has also taken delivery of 75 seats at a knock down price of £1,000 from Gillingham Town FC which will be fitted into the Withey Stand on the Boundary Walk side of the main pitch, hopefully by the end of the summer.
Work on improving the 25-year-old changing room facilities will begin in the last two weeks of June, following a very successful gofundme page in March which, with other donations, raised nearly £4,200 in one month.
In early June, the club is intending to resurface part of its car park at Woodmarsh to improve parking facilities and lessen the impact of cars parking outside the ground.
“We are not trying to build Wembley Stadium; we just need to upgrade the Woodmarsh facilities so that we can gain promotion and provide a much-needed improved facility for the town, especially for the older youth age groups.
“I really fear for the future of the club’s adult team not being able to move up the non-league pyramid system and the continued sad prospect of no U18s Floodlit youth team or Veterans Team in Trowbridge if we cannot install the floodlights,” said Mr Meaden.
“Other West Wilts teams, Bradford Town, Melksham Town, Warminster Town and Westbury United all have floodlights, why can’t we, the County Town?”
The club estimates the improvements will cost more than £75,000 and still needs to find around £25,000 to supplement any Football Foundation grants for which it is eligible.
Mr Meaden hopes the improvements will satisfy the administrators of the Toolstation Western League One so that Trowbridge Town can gain promotion next season, if they finish in a promotion spot once again.
“If we want to see a higher standard of football at Woodmarsh, then we have to make sure we have the facilities to match their grading requirements."
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