A POPULAR playing field could soon see at least an extra £500,000 spent on it as part of a major refurbishment but it would mean work would not begin until 2021.

King George V Playing Fields in Droitwich is already due to see a £1 million refurbishment as a part of a plan to install all-weather synthetic 3G pitch at the playing fields.

Wychavon District Council’s executive board are moving towards accepting £500,000 previously unavailable grant money from the Football Foundation, the body that awards grants and funding on behalf of the FA, which would pay for around half of the cost of the refurbishment.

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Crucially, work would not be expected to start until April 2021 – a year later than planned.

The grant money would also pay for the refurbishment of the fields’ pavilion and changing rooms.

At the time of the first discussions in 2016, grant funding from the FA was not available for the proposed installation of a 3G pitch in Droitwich because of the area’s historical use as a landfill site.

The Football Foundation has recently revealed it could be able to award up to £500,000 for the project to help carry out the work.

The council’s executive board agreed in June to move ahead with the much-needed refurbishment with the funding to be drawn from contributions made by housing developers – otherwise known as section 106 money – with a hope the work would start in April 2020.

The council has already earmarked £1 million in its capital budget to carry out the 3G pitch refurbishment with the extra work expected to cost up to another £1 million.

The council expects the pavilion and changing room work to be paid for by Football Foundation grants and section 106 money from housing developers.