Member Article

Game changing Sports Pavilion in Throckley nears completion

A project that will see a new community sports facility in Throckley is nearing completion.

The new Sports Pavilion at Throckley Recreation Ground, the home of the Throckley Magpies and the Throckley Bowling Club will provide modern facilities for the local community and will be open in the New Year, Covid rules allowing.

The eagerly anticipated Sports Pavilion will provide high quality indoor rooms linked to the village’s newly improved Recreation Ground and Bowling Green and will provide space for new and existing sports, keep-fit and community groups to enjoy. Enquiries are already being generated from other groups in the area.

The Sports Pavilion has two club rooms which can be hired for a modest fee. The rooms can also be combined into one large space. There are also a fully fitted kitchen, toilets, locker rooms and changing facilities, all with accessible access.

The Pavilion is being provided by Crown charity, Greenwich Hospital, alongside a new housing development in the village of Throckley. The Meadow Hill development will provide more than 500 new homes, in a parkland setting. The homes have been designed for families of all sizes with its collection of new 2, 3, 4- and 5-bedroom properties, currently in partnership with Cussins and Miller Homes.

Greenwich Hospital has worked closely with the community of Throckley to understand their requirements and is providing high quality open areas which will meet a variety of indoor and outdoor sport and recreational needs for the village, both now and into the future.

“Throckley residents have been instrumental in helping Greenwich Hospital to provide this building. We are on the cusp of delivering a facility that affords all the residents of Throckley with twice the indoor space compared to the previous building. It is built to a high specification, and is being completed five years earlier than originally planned. There are also significant improvements to the Recreation Ground which include a new grass football pitch, a multi-use games area, allotments, and a new pedestrian access to Throckley Primary School. Greenwich Hospital is proud to have been involved with the provision of improvements identified by local residents,” said Andrew Turner, Interim Director of Greenwich Hospital.

Throckley resident and co-founder of the old Throckley Recreation Association Anne Whittaker said: “The new sports and recreational ground is going to provide us with much needed outdoor space as well as a base for new classes/activities for all ages of the community to enjoy, which will complement facilities already provided in our village.

“It will provide a facility where our residents can attend and use the fantastic outside space - which includes a multi-use games pitch, modern new building, new pathways with lighting, and with security measures installed should make this a very pleasant and safe place for us all to use. I look forward to seeing this facility being opened.”

Michelle Mitchell, who manages Throckley Community Hall, said: “Throckley is a lovely community to live in, everybody knows everybody else – people tend not to move away and this will not only take the pressure off the community hall, it will also give young people a variation in terms of the type of activities they can do.”

A grant for turf-care and re-seeding of the adjacent Throckley Bowling Green has also enabled the resident bowls club to make improvements.

Graham Gosling, Throckley Bowling Club, said: “The new building is going to really put us on the map in terms of the bowls club. Prior to the new build, the club was housed in a large Portacabin. In the last few months, with the support of Greenwich Hospital, we have also made significant improvements to our Bowling Green - it is the best it has ever been.

“Our membership, which ranges in age from mid-thirties to 91, is up 30%, including a number of women members. This will only increase once the new Throckley Sports Pavilion opens, giving us car parking spaces, warm facilities, space to entertain opposing teams and hold events. In the past, we weren’t able to host one-day round robin events. The additional space could now see us host up to six teams.

“With new members already coming from Heddon, Wallsend and the West End of Newcastle we’re planning to put the facility on the map for everyone in the area.”

The new Sports Pavilion and Recreation Ground will be open as soon as public health restrictions permit; the new football pitch will be ready for public use from next summer.

Club Secretary for the Throckley Magpies, Neil Goodall said: “The new Sports Pavilion building and Recreation Ground are looking fantastic. We’re excited at the prospect of returning to our home ground and making use of the improved football pitch. This, together with new toilets, changing and catering facilities will make a huge difference to the way the club is able to operate, in particular our nursery football academy for 4-8 year-olds, opening Summer 2021.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gardiner Richardson .