8th October 2026 • The HERALD • Page 11 v SHOP LOCALLY FOR SERVICE & VALUE v NEW FOREST PLUMBING AND MAINTENANCE 24/7 LTD *YOUR LOCAL 24 HOUR EMERGENCY CALL OUT PLUMBER* We provide a wide range of plumbing services, with an established reputation for quality, service and customer satisfaction. www.newforestplumbing.co.uk Contact us on 07912 092557 or 023 8194 0237 newforestplumbing@yahoo.com UPVC, WOODEN DOOR, WINDOW SPECIALIST LOCK PROBLEMS? We Can Help with ALL types of Locks • Fix or Replace • Gain Entry 24hr Emergency Call Outs • Specialised Non-Destructive Entries • Safe Unlocking Expertise • Broken Key Removals • Insurance Purpose Lock Changes & Repairs • Swift Burglary Repairs, Extra Door & Window Security Upgrades • Police Approved Keysafes – Emergency Boarding • Anti-Burglar Bars/Grilles For Windows & Doors, • Free Security Checks • Crime Prevention Advice Awarded Police Recognition, Donald Bugsy Edwards • All Work Guaranteed • No Call Out Charge • No VAT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT LOCKSMITH BE WISE CALL KEYWISE 07453 327708 or 023 8155 0025 24 HOUR SERVICE Pavillion & Resurfaced 3G Pitch “Going back to 2016, 2017, Applemore had not really been a community site before. There was a growing community club with capacity issues, and it had been difficult to get girls’ football going. There was a massive need in the area which needed to be filled. This project has been a real success story, and it shows what can be achieved if you do things properly.” comments Sacha Nicholas, Facilities & Investment Manager, Hampshire FA. e original 3G pitch was laid in 2017 through a partnership of national and local funders, including Sport England, the FA, the RFU and the council. What has happened since is less common in grassroots sport. Rather than returning to funders for another grant, every fee paid to use the pitch goes into a dedicated resurfacing fund managed by Applemore College, which pays to replace the surface roughly every ten years. As the site’s largest user, Hythe & Dibden YFC contributes the bulk of that fund. In practice, the people who use the pitch have paid for its renewal, and the model will pay for the next one too. “That partnership, with the school, with the FA, with the club, has made sure that when it came to needing to be replaced, it is here. It is investment from everybody to ensure that everybody can continue to use a great facility.” comments Jamie Burton, Health & Partnership Manager, New Forest District Council. For Applemore College, the shared site has become part of how the school presents itself to the families it recruits from. Clare Williams, Headteacher, Applemore College comments: “When you go into primary schools it is really clear as a selling point. There are loads of students we talk to in Year 6 who basically choose here because they play for Hythe and Dibden. It always gets a big cheer when you talk about it. From the community aspect, that is the biggest jewel.” Since 2020 the club has operated out of three donated shipping containers on temporary planning permission. e new pavilion, built on top of that structure, adds home and away changing rooms, a classroom large enough for a full squad, a kitchen and kiosk, extra toilets and secure kit and equipment storage. e changing rooms in particular are what allow the club’s girls’ and women’s sides to keep growing. James Golding, Chairman, Hythe & Dibden YFC comments: “We’re proud to have been able to call Applemore our home for the last 9 years. Now it really feels like a home, for the long term. This building alongside the resurfaced 3G pitch will give us the platform to maintain and build on all of the great work that’s been done in the past, as well as being a legacy for future generations.” Continued from page 10 Enjoying the new Pavillion The resurfaced 3G pitch has been reopened
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