Soccer: Chelmsford City's bid to come home

The scheme to develop a ploughed field in Boreham into a football ground and centre of soccer learning are about to be submitted to Chelmsford Borough Council.

If they get approval, the club could have training facilities operating by next September and be playing their first match on their own home ground in August 2001.

Manager Gary Bellamy said: "Just a few things need to be finalised and the application for planning permission should be put in before Christmas and certainly before the end of the year."

The learning centre would have links to local colleges and schools, and the project also includes the development of a community programme, the provision of a clubhouse which could be used for corporate or social functions and a sports injury clinic.

It is a far cry from New Writtle Street, Chelmsford, where the club - currently in the Dr Martens league eastern division - historically played their matches until August 1997 when they had to vacate the ground.

For the first six months of their exile from the town they had a ground share with Maldon Football Club and them moved to Billericay, where they have been ever since.

But Mr Bellamy said: "The majority of our fans have stayed with us through this time. We have an average of about 500 people which is excellent. We scored over 90 goals last year and we are having a successful cup run and hope to go to the top of the league this year."

He added: "If we get planning permission we will be starting from scratch and we have the chance to do it right."

Mr Bellamy said money needed would come from raising share capital, grants and investment from businesses. We have a business plan and it has been looked at favourably by a lot of business people in the city.

"A lot of Chelmsford businesses would also like to help as well," he said.

Fact file

The new £2.65 million stadium at Springfield, Chelmsford, will initially have the 6,000 crowd capacity needed to meet Nationwide League ground grading approval.

Club Chairman, Peter Stroud, said last week: "We have amended our initial plan so that it will immediately meet Nationwide League grading, which is for a 6,000 capacity with 3,000 under cover, including 1,000 seats.

"We have the finances in place and we are ready and keen to bring the club back into the borough.

"It is the beginning of an exciting new era, not only for the club, but also for the community of Chelmsford," he said.

The club, which has approved a detailed business plan for the new complex on a 10.4 acre site near to the A12 Boreham Interchange, hope to have detailed plans approved by March at the latest so that building work could then start.

Initially an artificial all-weather sports pitch with portable changing rooms would be ready for use by next September with the aim of seeing the club kick off their 2001/02 season at the ground.

Two sides of the ground will be developed first with a main grandstand incorporating dressing rooms and other support amenities, including a 40-person seminar room to be used as a boardroom on match days, sports injury clinic and public bar with light food being served

At the north end of the stadium there will be a glass front hospitality area with portable partitions suitable for use as corporate entertaining with a covered area beneath for 1,000 spectators.

There will also be a separate entrance and parking area for a banqueting and function suite capable of accommodating 250 people so that it can also be used independently and without interference on match days.

Once up and running the club will also be developing a Football Centre of Excellence alongside their existing Football in the Community scheme.

There will be three separate parking areas and also easy access to the proposed new railway station, should that go ahead.

The club, currently ground sharing at Billericay Town, still attracts higher than average gates for their league.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.