A Richhill resident says the closure of the 3G pitch at the recreation centre in the village leaves footballers with “nowhere else to go”.
Keith Gillis organises an over 40s football session every week, which boasts over 40 men in its membership, including some men aged into their 60s.
His group traditionally used the 3G pitch at the recreation centre but their routine was thrown into uncertainty when the pitch was deemed ‘unsafe’ due to damage and closed in November.
The closure means that, despite most members living in Richhill, the group now has to travel eight miles to a neighbouring pitch to continue playing football.
Speaking to Armagh I, Keith explained: “They put a 3G surface down there around ten years ago and it’s been alright. We’ve been playing on it the last three or four years and everything’s been fine.”
The facility has also been regularly used by other groups and organisations, such as Ambassadors FC.
Keith continued: “They have the whole place locked off and there’s nowhere else to go. Even at the weekends they left it open for the locals to have a kickabout, but now we’ve nothing, and it’s been like that since November.
“We’ve been trying different avenues and trying to highlight our plight. We’ve now moved up to Rockmacreeny and we’ve found a little pitch up there by the church, but it’s four-a-side. We played on it last night and it’s not what we want. There’s nothing else in the village.
“In the recreation centre itself there is a little indoor pitch, but it’s used for badminton every night and it’s always booked up.”
Keith says the closure, which came with no explanation, has had a negative impact on the local community.
“When you get into your 50s and 60s, you don’t really have anything else going on, and it was the only night of the week that everybody was getting out of the house. It was good exercise and good for mental health.”
Such is their desperation, they have even offered to raise money to make the repairs themselves.
“We’re not actually looking a new surface. Even if we could get it repaired. We could even get the couple of little patches that we need to repair and do it ourselves. I understand that you can’t go into public spaces and start making repairs, but we’re going to see if that is even an option.
“We would pay for it and let them inspect it, and if they were happy, then we could play on.
“We’re just getting fed up with the whole thing.
“The recreation centre’s losing revenue out of it, because everybody was paying to play there, so the money they’ve lost since November would quite easily have paid for the repair.”
Continued Keith: “I bring the lads up there on a Sunday morning for a kickabout, and it’s the only real place that you can go. You can’t get on the grass, you can’t get into the recreation centre itself.
“So there’s absolutely nothing else, and for the size of Richhill, you can’t just cut everything off from us.
“Irrespective of us, there are lots of other people that it’s affecting. Just by chatting to people around the village in the last couple of months, it’s a bit of a stickler for everybody.
“If we had some form of clarity that it was getting repaired, and we had a date, we would be fine with that. We could stick it out.
“They’re talking about putting a 4G pitch down and they’re waiting on a grant, but that’s not going to happen until probably next year. We had planned to move to there and I’d heard they didn’t want to repair the surface because of this new surface coming, but they haven’t even put a spade in the ground.
“We need a solution now.”
Commenting, Alderman Gareth Wilson said: “The users of this site have a very valid point and I have met the senior officials in Council given the impact the closure of the multi use games area has had on the local community who use it on a regular basis.
“The surface has been in poor condition for some time and there have been parts of the pitch that have lifted and council officials decided on a health and safety standpoint to close the pitch until a solution can be found.”
He added: “I have made it clear to council officials that work around getting to the point where the site can be reopen must be a priority and I understand that pricing of the replacement of the surface is being undertaken.
“I will continue to keep in touch with the facility users and also lobby hard on this issue and I hope that the pitch can be reopened as soon as possible.”
ABC Council has been contacted for comment.
