The Town Council, Llandrindod Wells Football Club and Rugby Club are hoping to see a 3/4G pitch installed in the town.

The current pitches at Lant Avenue are said to be overused and struggle to cope with the wear and tear. They are used by the boys Under 6's, 7's, 8's, 9's, 10's, 11's, U13’s and 15's as well as the senior reserves and the senior first team. 

It is also utilised by the girls’ teams, which range from primary school ages and upwards.

This one pitch has to cope with all the teams training in the week and playing games on the weekends.

There is also a small training pitch which is in a poor condition and becomes very boggy when it gets wet. It is also not flat and cannot be used for football festivals. 

A spokesperson for Llandrindod Town Football club has said: “It has always been a Club ambition to have a facility that will cope with current and future pitch demands. 

"We have a strong and proud number of boys, girls, and senior players with access to only one full size pitch. We are currently limiting player numbers as a result of this and in turn, unfortunately limiting the opportunity for young people to play football.

“Year on year, we are also limited in the number of games and training that we can offer due to flooding or frozen conditions. To put quite simply, our grass pitches can't sustain any greater levels of demand or resilient to any wet or cold conditions. 

“A 3/4G pitch will overcome all these barriers and it will allow LWFC to achieve long term goals of being able to offer every community member the opportunity to get involved in football, if they so wished. We also believe that such a facility in Llandrindod Wells would benefit a wide range of community groups and neighbouring football clubs with an all-year-round accessible outdoor space.”

The Rugby pitch, which is located next to the football facilities, copes with the limited activity it is exposed to currently, but is prohibitive for increasing its usage. The rugby team would also benefit massively from the use of an all-weather pitch in the winter.

After listening to the opinions of both clubs, the Town Council paid for a professional pitch inspection and the results of the inspection supported both club’s opinions.

The report from the pitch inspection said that the condition of the rugby and junior football pitches are typical of a sports field where demanding use and a lack of on-going maintenance has resulted in poor surface conditions.

In the summer months the ground can be hard and uncompromising and during the winter season become muddy and occasionally waterlogged.

The report also concluded that the ground is heavily compacted and the rootzone soils have low drainage characteristics which contribute to the poor ground conditions encountered. A lack of proper drainage prevents these soils recovering from rainfall events and as a consequence, muddy conditions can prevail during heavy rainfall. 

On the day of inspection, the ground was firm to hard with very little ‘give’. The grass density was generally good (90%) with some bare patches. 

A number of broadleaved weeds were present over both fields. The lengthways slope of the rugby field is slightly below the minimum performance quality standard (PQS) and the lengthways slope for the junior pitch within the Basic category PQS.

Also, on the day of inspection, the football pitch was firm with some ‘give’ but displayed some compaction below the surface. The grass coverage was good with few weeds present. The lengthways slope was excessive at 2% (1/50) and below the minimum basic PQS. The Crossfield slope falls within the Basic PQS category. 

The surface suffers from undulations and local backfalls. The drainage capacity is unclear but any existing pipe field drains are unlikely to function properly.

It is believed that Llandrindod Wells is an ideal location for an all-weather pitch, being located in Mid Wales, with transport links for hosting possible North/South fixtures. 

The football club has recently had to decline requests from charities, emergency services, and football leagues for hire due to a lack of availability and the condition of the pitch. Therefore a new all-weather pitch will allow these opportunities to happen. 

Llandrindod Town Councillor, Benjamin Williams is keen for this project to take place, he said: “For a town of this size, with strongly supported boys, girls and senior football teams and junior and senior rugby teams, it is a travesty that each club only has one pitch. There are 14 football teams alone in Llandrindod. With a lack of space, a 3/4g pitch would allow all the teams to utilises it with no fear of its condition deteriorating. Llandrindod is also a central location for all other surrounding clubs, who would also benefit from the provision. The town needs this and the area needs this!”

Many believe a 3/4G pitch will provide an excellent facility for all the surrounding area’s teams, who can train and even play on it.