A new chapter begins at Glebe Football Club, in Foxbury Avenue, this week as the new £1.3m ground improvements get underway on Monday 10th March.
GLEBE chairman Rocky McMillan has revealed the club have been given the go-ahead to install a new 3G artificial playing surface and a 350-seater stand within a 1,500 capacity stadium on the same site as the current pitch and the slope will be levelled off. This is an amazing £1.3m project that will bring Glebe FC into a full all year round, fully functioning playing pitch, funded by the Football Federation and with a donation by the Chislehurst Society.
This is an incredible upgrade to the club and such a wonderful opportunity also for the local Chislehurst community. Glebe FC currently have 39 teams wearing their red and black kit and the new facilities will leave a legacy that McMillan will be proud of. The new facilities will give the club the opportunity to extend its offering to; female players extending its girls and ladies teams. The project will also allow the club to enhance disability football, for those hard of learning, that haven’t got the facilities now and also to be able to give football to local schools on a 12-monthly basis or when they want it, especially during the winter when everything is postponed.
Work on the pitch and stadium should take between 12 and 14 weeks to complete.
Rocky says, “The project is £1.3m. if we hadn’t started in March then the prices would’ve gone up and there would be no guarantee that we would get the same money from the Football Foundation, so my sincere thanks to the Football Foundation and the Premier League for their donation, as well as to the other sponsors including Chislehurst Society.
“The local council has been fantastic and also thanks to my residents. After months of listening to us they have realised what a great asset this is to the community and actually withdrew the Judicial Review that was registered in the High Court back last June.
“This season was always going to be very, very difficult because to get to where we are, we had to spend a lot of money on legal fees to make sure that we put a defence up against a Judicial Review and these things don’t come cheaply, so that has obviously taken its toll.
The Southern Counties East Football League has been very good. We’ve moved a couple of fixtures forward and then we’ll be playing away on March 29th.
One of the reasons the London Football Association and The Football Association wanted it here was because it’s been looked at as one of the best locations. You can get here north, south, east and west very, very easily, so geographically anyone can travel here.
I think as a club we’ve only had, I think, two full weekends out of the last 10 here, which is not so much the finances but you put so much effort during the week and on a Sunday I’ve got to come down here at seven o’clock in the morning and say ‘the games are off!’
It’s just another new chapter in the club. I’m so pleased because when my wife Grace and I founded it 30 years ago – it seems like a lifetime away now – but I never dreamt we’ll have this.
Now we’ve got well over 400 playing members. We can now be open to more people because we’ll have the facilities and the number of people that are asking if they can come up and groundshare or if they can use the facilities, it’s absolutely enormous!
I think it will drive the club on to another level – not that we’ll be looking to be the be all and end all or anything – but I just think it’s great through The Football Foundation, government and Premier League money that money is finding its way down to our level.”
“I think it leaves a real legacy of what you’ve achieved.
“We’re going to try to create some relationship with the Chislehurst School next door because they’ve got a 3G pitch being built so we try to create a relationship with them. We’ve got a very good relationship with the University Ground next door, where we play, so we’ve got some very good local relationships. We’ve got great relationships with the Kent Football Association, the London Football Association and national Football Association. I think those relationships have been built over 30 years. You don’t get those relationships in a few months.
Glebe FB is Chislehurst’s home team for players U7 to vets, boys, girls, men and women – it is very much a family team. This is a private football ground offering a clubhouse and bar. If you are interested in playing at Glebe FC now is the time to apply for next season.
Full Club details can be found HERE.
Photo credit Kirk Pritchard
