ESSEX: £600,000 plans to improve Braintree stadium

By dward

AMBITIOUS Braintree Town Football Club plan to spend an estimated £600,000 on improving their Cressing Road ground to bring it up to Blue Square Premier level so if they gain promotion this season or next they won't be refused the chance to make further progress.

The work that needs to be carried out includes; major improvements to the terracing, dressing rooms, better car park with CCTV installed, extra turnstiles and toilets, crush barriers, provision of a first aid room and stadium segregation plus new floodlights.

But the club still plans to move in to a different purpose built home by 2013 (see above).

The debt-free club, currently the most successful non-league club in Essex sitting in fourth place in the Blue Square South, are strong favourites to make the end of season promotion play-offs.

But the Iron will need to spend thousands more pounds to meet the ground capacity of 4,500, health and safety and other essential requirements to get the FA to give them the 'A' grading they need to play at one level higher.

The club directors have already allocated £60,000 of their own money to spend next year on urgent improvements and they expect to get a £150,000 grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund.

"Obviously that will leave a shortfall and that's where we believe Braintree District Council can play an important part in helping with a grant," explained club chairman Lee Harding. "Quite simply it's a case of make or break with the council's support and involvement in all of this - without it we can't progress."

Harding went on: "There's no point in us working towards promotion again this season or next to the Blue Square Premier if we don't have the required facilities in place to allow us to stay there."

He said the latest improvement plans would be formally submitted to the council early in the New Year, and he hoped to continue with the current positive dialogue with the council over the way forward.

"We have several meeting with the council and I have written to the leader, Cllr Graham Butland, to seek his help, advice and guidance on going about securing a grant," Harding continued. "It's early days in our talks and the council has not dismissed us out of hand while we at the club continue to do what we can to make it all happen."

The Iron, under new manager Robbie Garvey who has built an impressive side with young, hungry players, are doing exceptionally well in the league and at present are handily placed to cement their play-off place.

"It would a tragedy if all this hard work is wasted too," he continued. "We feel we have made great strides in recent season with promotions, established ourselves at Conference level and have brought benefits to the town and district as a community based club."

This Saturday the Iron go to basement club Weymouth determined to maintain their recent unbeaten run and with a couple of games in hand over sides around them could see them move into second place.

Garvey has a full squad available for the trip to Dorset but knows that with a new chairman installed there and new players being signed they will be a tougher opposition than in their 3-2 defeat at Cressing Road two weeks ago.

Meanwhile the club still needs to complete the important ground improvements over the next 18 months if they are not to be refused promotion.

Harding added: "We do regard the progress the football club has made over the past five years or so as a Braintree success story and we want to continue this and hopefully the council will continue to see and support us in this goal."