Sporting chance
A NEW trust could be set up to secure the future of Brighouse Town and help the club progress.
Talks are at an early stage but club chairman Chris Lister confirmed he has been in discussions with Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker and Conservative councillors Christine Beal and Howard Blagbrough to find a way to ensure that football will continue to be played at the St Giles Road ground.
Fears that the ground, the Dual Seal Stadium, could be lost to development are thought to be behind the move.
Brighouse Town currently plays in the Baris Northern Counties East League and is hoping to fight for promotion to the Evo-Stik League. The club’s ground is owned by crisis-hit Blakeborough’s Social and Sports Club in Brighouse and there is 25 years left to run on the lease to Brighouse Town.
Mr Lister said: “We are really keen to make this work for the club. It is all about securing the club’s future in the long term.
“The club is a huge asset to sport in the Brighouse area. We need to make our tenure safe at St Giles Road to continue to develop our facilities for young people.
“We have begun talks with Craig Whittaker and the two councillors and they are offering their support but it is very early days yet.”
Coun Blagbrough said that applying for charitable trust status would enable the club to apply for grants to improve facilities and move forward.
“It is also important that our green open spaces continue to be used by the community and are not lost to development.
“Brighouse Town does a lot of good work in the community and particularly with young people. It is important that it continues and develops.
“A lot of good work has been done in putting Brighouse on the map in many other ways and that needs to continue in the sporting arena. We are really hoping we will find a way of making this succeed.”
The semi-professional club wants to install all-weather pitches and new floodlights and improve the facilites for members and supporters.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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