Football club gets new lease to secure its future

A new lease has been agreed for a non-league football club so it can try to get funding for an artificial pitch to secure its future.

The current lease for Daventry Town Football Club was due to run out in 2038.

The club said a longer lease meant it could "approach external investors, who often require leases of 21 or 25 years, for funding to install a new third generation artificial pitch, estimated at a cost of around £600,000".

Cabinet members at West Northamptonshire Council agreed to surrender the current lease and grant a new one starting from this year.

The authority said it would "enhance the overall sporting provision and deliver a greater community benefit".

Once funding for a new pitch is obtained, the club - known as the Purple Army - would have to gain planning permission to install it.

John Slope, Reform UK cabinet member for finance and resources, said it would "work with Daventry Town Football Club over the upcoming months to finalise the arrangements for the lease".

Kamala Guliyeva, the Reform UK cabinet member for local economy, culture and leisure, added: "The club actively promotes health and wellbeing, particularly for those under the age of 18 through its junior football teams, and the creation of a new artificial pitch will help them support many more young people in the years to come."

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