Mill Farm Sports Village

Last updated

Mill Farm Sports Village
Location map United Kingdom Borough of Fylde.svg
Red pog.svg
Mill Farm Sports Village
Location in Fylde, Lancashire
LocationCoronation Way,
Wesham PR4 3JZ
Lancashire, England
Coordinates 53°47′50″N2°53′20″W / 53.7973°N 2.8890°W / 53.7973; -2.8890
OwnerMill Farm Ventures Ltd.,
Lytham St Annes UK
Executive suitesYes
Capacity 6,000
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardYes
Construction
Opened13 August 2016 (2016-08-13)
ArchitectFrank Whittle Partnership Ltd.,
Preston UK
Main contractorsWarden Construction Ltd.,
Preston, UK
Tenants
AFC Fylde (2016–present)

Mill Farm Sports Village is a multi-sport facility located on the outskirts of the town of Wesham in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. Facilities include the Mill Farm football stadium, home to the football team AFC Fylde since 2016, and several 3G football and hockey pitches.

Contents

History

On 19 January 2008, AFC Fylde announced plans to move from their current ground at Kellamergh Park in the village of Warton to a then unnamed location, and in February 2010 unveiled plans for a new Community Sports Complex in Wrea Green; however, the planning application was rejected by Fylde Council in April 2012. [1]

On 3 September 2013, the club announced that new plans had been drawn up for a £18 million multi-sport development, Mill Farm Sports Village, on the outskirts of Wesham. [2] As well as a 6,000-capacity Football League standard football stadium with supporters' facilities, the development would include community sports pitches, sports science facilities, and commercial opportunities including a supermarket. [3] The planning application for the stadium and associated facilities was accepted by Fylde Borough Council on 4 June 2014. [4]

The Preston architecture company the Frank Whittle Partnership Limited (the FWP group), who have been involved in the successful design and delivery of a number of other football stadiums in Lancashire [5] was chosen to design the sporting village. The prime developer chosen was Warden Construction Limited, also of Preston. Construction began in March 2015 [6] and was completed by the middle of 2016 . The ground opened on 13 August 2016 [7] for the club's first National League North match of the season against Brackley Town. The final cost of the sports village was approximately £25 million.

Design and facilities

The main structure within Mill Farm Sports Village is the football stadium.

The stadium is designed to hold up to 6,000 spectators in three stands. The main grandstand offers 2,000 seats and hospitality areas, and the east and south stands provide covered terracing. The stadium is described as "simple yet elegant"; it is decorated almost solely in black and white colours for its outer/inner cladding and combines a smooth, curved roof. [7]

Customer facilities include: [8]

Other facilities

Other sporting facilities

As well as the football stadium, the Mill Farm Sports Village also contains 3rd generation artificial turf football and hockey pitches for community use, and a sports science centre.

Commercial facilities

Mill Farm Sports Village also contains an Aldi supermarket, Euro Garages petrol station with a Spar, Greggs bakery and KFC fast food restaurant. There are future opportunities for a 60-bed hotel on-site. [3]

Transport

Mill Farm Sports Village is accessible by both public transport and private vehicles [8]

By car

Mill Farm Sports Village is less than 1 mile from Junction 3 of the M55 motorway to the north, which leads to Blackpool to the west and Preston and the M6 to the east. To the south, the A585 Fleetwood Road forms the Kirkham and Wesham Bypass and connects with the A583 Blackpool Road, a main route between Blackpool and Preston. Access to the sports village is via the A585 and on-site parking is available.

Public transport

Mill Farm Sports Village is served by regular bus and train services.

The closest bus stop is on the A585 approximately a 5 minute walk from the centre of the sports village. The Stagecoach number 61 service operates every 30 minutes providing connections through Blackpool – Kirkham – Preston and return.

The closest railway station is Kirkham and Wesham, approximately half a mile away. The station is operated by Northern and is serviced by the Preston-Blackpool North and Preston-Blackpool South lines, with up to six services per hour in each direction. If walking to the sports village is undesirable, private hire vehicles can be booked from the station.

Prizes and honours

In 2017, the project team behind the Mill Farm Sports Village, composed of representatives from Warden Construction, Frank Whittle Partnership, Mill Farm Ventures and AFC Fylde, PWA Planning, Partington and Associates, Petit Singleton Associates, Preston City Council and Fylde Borough Council, was a regional winner in Local Authority Building Control North West Awards. The judges praised the winners for their: “innovative and creative solutions and building control professionalism that leads to safe, sustainable and high quality construction projects.” [9]

Criticism

Not long after its opening in 2016, Mill Farm Sports Village was criticised by fans and community groups for failing to provide sufficient on-site car parking, and creating traffic problems for the surrounding roads. Following visits from its planning inspectors in 2018, the Fylde Council ruled that Mill Farm's parking facilities and AFC Fylde's traffic management plans were "inadequate". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkham, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Kirkham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston and adjacent to the town of Wesham. It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a Roman fort. At the census of 2011, it had a population 3,304 plus 3,890, giving a total of 7,194. By the census of 2021 the total had risen to 3,217 plus 4,666, giving a total of 7,883.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Fylde</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

The Borough of Fylde is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It covers part of the Fylde plain, after which it is named. The council's headquarters are in St Annes. The borough also contains the towns of Kirkham, Lytham and Wesham and surrounding villages and rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poulton-le-Fylde</span> Human settlement in England

Poulton-le-Fylde, commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warton, Fylde</span> Human settlement in England

Warton is a village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fylde (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Fylde is a constituency in Lancashire which is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Mark Menzies, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrea Green</span> Human settlement in England

Wrea Green is a village in the Fylde borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about 2 miles west of Kirkham. Along with the village of Ribby, it forms the civil parish Ribby-with-Wrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool South railway station</span> Railway station in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England

Blackpool South railway station serves the suburban south of the popular seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the South Fylde Line12+1⁄4 miles (19.7 km) west of Kirkham and Wesham by rail, though all services run through from Preston. It lies only a short walk from Blackpool Football Club's stadium at Bloomfield Road. The station is managed by Northern Trains, who operate all trains serving it. Blackpool South is located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) from Waterloo Road tram stop on the Blackpool Tramway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkham and Wesham railway station</span> Railway station serves the Lancashire towns of Kirkham and Wesham, in England

Kirkham and Wesham railway station serves the Lancashire towns of Kirkham and Wesham, in England. It is managed by Northern Trains, who operate most of the passenger services that call there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool branch lines</span> Railway lines in Lancashire, England

The Blackpool branch lines are two railway branch lines running from the West Coast Main Line at Preston to Blackpool: The main branch which is double track and electrified, runs to Blackpool North station via Poulton-le-Fylde. A second branch, which is single track and unelectrified, diverges from the main branch at Kirkham and Wesham junction, running on a southerly route to Blackpool South station via Lytham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool Central railway station</span> Disused railway station in Blackpool, Lancashire

Blackpool Central was the largest railway station in the town of Blackpool in the county of Lancashire, England. It contained 14 platforms; at its closure in 1964, it became the station with the highest number of platforms ever to close. Principal railway services to Blackpool now terminate at Blackpool North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A583 road</span> Preston to Blackpool road in England

The A583 is a primary road from Preston to Blackpool in England, via Kirkham. It runs a distance of 17 miles (27.4 km), and was previously the main route into Blackpool until the construction of the M55 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weeton-with-Preese</span> Civil parish in Lancashire, England

Weeton-with-Preese is a civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, beside the Blackpool to Preston railway line and the M55 motorway, just east of Blackpool and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north west of Kirkham. It contains the village of Weeton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFC Fylde</span> Association football club in Wesham, England

AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the National League and play at Mill Farm.

The Fylde is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile-long (21-kilometre) square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to the east which approximates to a section of the M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medlar-with-Wesham</span> Human settlement in England

Medlar-with-Wesham is a civil parish and an electoral ward on the Fylde in Lancashire, England, which contains the town of Wesham. It lies within the Borough of Fylde, and had a population of 3,245 in 1,294 households recorded in the 2001 census rising to 3,584 in 1,511 households, at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton</span> Human settlement in England

Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton is a civil parish on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. In 2001 it had a population of 462, falling to 439 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Fylde Borough Council election</span>

The 2011 Fylde Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Fylde Borough Council in Lancashire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.

Public transport in the Fylde is available for three modes of transport—bus, rail and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to the Fylde, a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England, without their own vehicle, to travel around much of the area's 64 square miles (170 km2).

References

  1. ↑ AFC Fylde | Future Plans May 2012 Update, retrieved 06 January 2020
  2. ↑ Fylde Council Application 13/0655
  3. 1 2 Mill farm goes before DCLG Place NorthWest, 21 November 2014
  4. ↑ Mill Farm planning permission approved AFC Fylde, 5 June 2014
  5. ↑ FWP Group | Portfolio, retrieved 06 January 2020
  6. ↑ Warden Construction to begin work on £18m AFC Fylde stadium Lancashire Business View, 11 March 2015
  7. 1 2 Mill Farm Stadium Stadium Database, retrieved 06 January 2020
  8. 1 2 AFC Fylde | Mill Farm Mill Farm, retrieved 06 January 2020
  9. ↑ Mill Farm project scoops honour, Blackpool Gazette, 25 May 2017
  10. ↑ Not enough parking for football fans Blackpool Gazette, 20 February 2019
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.