Sports Village
The opening of the Sports Village brought to the area a major new sports facility, centred on the Littleton Road Playing Fields in Lower Kersal. It is a £4.7m flagship project for the NDC Partnership, Salford Community Leisure and Manchester FA. The Sports Village is seen nationally as a model of good practice. It has been developed to be an affordable facility and local people will be involved in the running of the village which is managed through a not-for-profit-trust, Salford Community Leisure. For information on all the actvities at the centre, click here
A second phase of Sports Village is now planned, which will provide outdoor netball courts, a health and fitness suite, additional changing rooms, education facilities and an indoor sports hall. It is anticipated that the netball court will become the home for Northern Thunder who are part of netball's Super League.
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Salford Sports Village was opened on 12th March 2006 with a fun packed day of activities for all the family. There was also a 24 hour football match, called Score24, which saw local organisations, youngsters and the community battling it out for the most goals over 24 hours. The facility hosted its first major regional sports event in the summer of 2006, when 150 teams of young footballers took to the pitches at the Salford Mini Soccer Festival. Teams competed at single/mixed sex under-7, under-8, under-9 and under-10 level and girls-only under-10 and under-12 level. |
The Festival is now an annual event at the Sports Village, held in association with Manchester FA, Salford Community Leisure and Charlestown & Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities. To find out more visit the dedicated Salford Mini Soccer Festival website.
For futher details on the Salford Sports Village please visit Salford Community Leisure or contact the centre on 0161 604 7600.
What about the flood defences?
The building and artificial pitch are protected from the River Irwell’s flood plain by a natural flood defence barrier that is a key part of the Environment Agency’s on going work in the area. This work also addresses the need for better pitch drainage on the existing grass pitches.
Every 100 years there is the chance that the Irwell could flood the playing fields. The pitches would be under water for 24-36 hours, but would recover. The Environment Agency has a commitment to draining 18 pitches at a cost of approximately £450,000 as part of their current work.. For up to date information on flooding in the area visit the Environment Agency website.
The flood defences were put to the test in January 2008 when prolonged heavy rain led to the River Irwell bursting its banks and the emergency procedures that kicked in saved many homes by draining excess water into the flood basin on the pitches.
This page was last updated on 12 August 2008
