Football can come home after plans approved for new Washington AFC base

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways (West) Committee has given the green light to a new ground for the club at the Northern Area Playing Fields, off Stephenson Road.

The land currently comprises of a number of sports pitches near the A195 and also provides the recently completed Sunderland Parklife Football Hub.

New plans include an 11-a-side grass pitch to the west of the site, near the existing clubhouse building, alongside improved drainage and associated infrastructure.

This ranges from six 15-metre-high floodlighting columns, dugouts and covered spectator stands, to a pay barrier turnstile, fencing and minor external alterations to the clubhouse.

Planning officer, Anthony Jukes, introduced the plan to councillors at a planning meeting on October 27, which was held via videolink and broadcast on YouTube.

“The application proposal is seeking to facilitate a new home for Washington AFC,” he said.

“They want to bring the area to a standard acceptable by their governing league body and Sport England.

“Washington AFC have over the past 12 years expanded in size and presently have over 500 players, 50 teams and 90 volunteer coaches.”

According to planning documents, Washington Football Club currently play with the Northern League Division 2 and have to play their games at Ferens Park in the City of Durham.

A planning report prepared for councillors added that the new ground would help the club “reconnect with the local community.”

It reads: “For the club to sustain the pathway to the first team, they need to be based back in Washington and build their sustainability through attracting supporters, including their junior section, to Northern League matches.

“[The club] have been involved in detailed discussions as of January of this year to look at options to locate back to the town and find themselves a new home.

“The club are keen and need to reconnect with the local community, and a new ground in the town.

“Sport England’s position has been that it would be minded to accept the loss of Washington Football Club’s former ground at Albany Park to housing development provided a Section 106 [legal agreement] on that development helped fund the provision of the new ground and that timing mechanisms within the housing development approval ensured that the new ground was brought into use prior to the occupation of the new houses.

“In light of the above, Sport England also wishes to express its support for Washington Football Club’s ground as it would help to consolidate community football opportunities and has the potential (along with the Parklife Hub) to be beneficial to the development of football in the town.”

The planning report adds the scheme would “provide an appropriate form of development, whilst not causing harm to the openness of the Green Belt.”

Under planning conditions, the development must be brought forward within the next three years.

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