Hot Lane games area now open

Published on 3 August 2023

It's Love Parks Week this week - the ideal time to officially open the new multi-use games area at Hot Lane in Biddulph Moor which provides residents in one of the District's more rural communities with informal leisure and sporting facilities on their doorstep.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council provided funding of more than £30,000 for the project with a further £50,000 coming from the Premier League, The FA and Government's Football Foundation.

The new facility features a tarmacked area, surrounded by a perimeter fence, with goals and net hoops to enable it to be used for activities such as recreational football, basketball and netball as well as exercise and general fun and games.

One of the key priorities of the new Move More Staffordshire Moorlands strategy is "accessible, safe, and welcoming environments". This project provides a new facility, which meets this criteria and is within easy walking distance for the local community to make full use of.

The project has been supported by local District Council ward members, Staffordshire Police, Biddulph Town Council and Moor First School who are looking forward to making use of the facilities.

Councillor Christopher Wood, Cabinet member for Finance at the District Council, joined some of the funders and members of the local community to mark the completion of these latest improvement works at the site.

He said: "Our parks and green spaces are such valuable places where we can all go to enjoy spending leisure time and taking part in outdoor activities with our families and friends to boost our health and wellbeing.

"So it's particularly fitting that during Love Parks Week, we're celebrating the completion of this project in Biddulph Moor to improve sporting and leisure facilities  and ensure that people in all parts of the Moorlands have places close to where they live where they can be active.

"This new multi-use games area means the local community will have year-round access to a surfaced, hardstanding games and activity area where they can enjoy leisure time and being active outdoors whatever the weather.

"We've also made sure this facility is accessible by including a new tarmacked path from the entrance to the site all the way to this new multi-use area.

"Now it's officially open, I'm sure it will be a valued and much-used amenity and an asset to the area."

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners - the Premier League, The FA and Government - to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country. 

"Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities. 

"We're delighted that the local community in Biddulph Moor will now be able to enjoy all these benefits thanks to the new multi-use games area at Hot Lane."

The latest investment in the facilities comes just a few years after the installation of upgraded and refurbished play equipment at the site - demonstrating the Council's commitment to improving local amenities across the Moorlands.