March Town United holds turf cutting ceremony as work begins on clubhouse, which should be up and running this summer

Turf cutting for new club house at March town football club. Picture: Steve Williams. (Image: Archant)

To mark the occasion, a turf cutting ceremony was held involving club dignitaries, former players Nigel Fuller and Mark Deighton who were part of the 1987 Eastern Counties title-winning side, and one of the Hares’ longest standing supporters.

To finance the £215,000 project, the club has secured £100,000 from The Football Stadia Improvement Fund, who are supporters of the Football Foundation and the largest funder of non-league football in the country.

They have also been allocated a grant of £69,150 from WREN and FCC Environment.

The work is being carried out by MJS contractors, with the design by architect Matthew Hall.

Turf cutting for new club house at March town football club. Picture: Steve Williams. (Image: Archant)

Vice chairman Gerry Roe said: “The club is thankful to MJS, to Matthew Hall and to The Football Stadia Improvement Fund and WREN for the funding.

“Hopefully some time in the middle of June the build will be completed and handed over to the club. We will then refurbish the inside of the clubhouse in the hope it will be up and running in early August for the start of the 2015/16 season.

“The clubhouse is absolutely massive for the club. It will secure our future at this standard of football and increase the club’s part in the community.

“We want to enable young people to play at this club for years to come.”

Eighty-three year-old Jerrold Graham has been cheering on the Hares since the 1950s. “I think the clubhouse is very important for the club,” he said.

Chairman Phil White added: “It’s just amazing. This is what we need to move the club forward. Every day I come to the ground and see a difference. Hopefully we’ll have the bricklayers here soon.”