Football club is coming home
FOOTBALL is finally coming home for Chelmsford City fans as last night the club was at last given a new home in the county town.Chelmsford Borough Council's executive approved plans for a £500,000 move to Melbourne Park Athletics Centre, heralding the end of a seven-year exodus from the town for the club.
FOOTBALL is finally coming home for Chelmsford City fans as last night the club was at last given a new home in the county town.
Chelmsford Borough Council's executive approved plans for a £500,000 move to Melbourne Park Athletics Centre, heralding the end of a seven-year exodus from the town for the club.
The Dr Marten's Premier League club was forced to leave its Chelmsford ground in New Writtle Street after it fell into the hands of the officical receiver.
Initially the Clarets shared a base with Maldon Town, before ending up at Billericay Town football club. In the meantime the club were desperate to move back to Chelmsford.
Chelmsford Borough Council wants to invest £1 million in improving Melbourne Park Athletics Centre, and some of that will go on creating a football pitch within the running track and building a new club house for Chelmsford City FC.
The redevelopment of Melbourne Park, in Salerno Way, will also see the construction of a 1,000-seater
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Stand which will bring match day capacity up to 3,000 including standing room.
The council would contribute half the cost of building the clubhouse, up to a maximum of £200,000. CCFC would rent the pitch and stadium from the council on a match-by-match basis and lease the land on which the clubhouse will be built.
The whole development is subject to public consultation and planning consent.
Last night CCFC spokesman Steve Dorrington said: “It's fantastic news. We have been waiting for so long to come back home. It finally looks like it's going to happen. There have been so many false storms but at last football's coming home.”
He added: “We'd like to say a big thank you for Chelmsford Borough Council for coming up with this. They have out of nothing done this all of a sudden. They have pulled out all the stops for us.”
