Langarth Garden Village is celebrating another key milestone with news that funding has been secured for providing a new 3G community training pitch and changing rooms as part of the flagship scheme.
Led by Langarth Garden Village LLP, the community facility is the next phase of the Langarth Sports Hub project which saw a floodlit 3,000-capacity FA-compliant football pitch and stands completed at the end of July 2024, enabling Truro City Football Club to return home for the start of the 2024 / 2025 football season.
The new facility will provide 7 days a week, all weather floodlit training facilities for clubs and organisations in the Truro and surrounding area. The design of the 3G pitch complies with current Sport England guidance to ensure that materials used are appropriate for use in this environment.
Confirming that Cornwall Council had accepted a £750, 000 capital grant from the Football Foundation towards the costs of the facility, Council Leader Leigh Frost said that construction would now begin early next year with the aim of delivering the new synthetic pitch in time for the 2026/27 football season. The remaining funding will come from compulsory planning contributions from developers and from the Garden Village project.
“We said at the start of the Garden Village project that we wanted to create a real community at Langarth and were committed to delivering key infrastructure in the early stages of the scheme “ said Councillor Frost.
“Last year we worked hard with partners to provide the new home for Truro City Football Club and we are now keeping our promise to deliver new sports facilities for community clubs and organisations. “
“There is significant local support for this important community facility and I would like to thank the Langarth Garden Village development team, the Football Foundation, local member Cllr Dulcie Tudor and Kenwyn Parish Council for working with us to bring this project to fruition. “
The completion of this phase means that the Langarth Sports Hub will become the largest permanent sports events facility in Cornwall. All partners are committed to ensuring that the new central and up to date facilities are accessible to the existing communities of Threemilestone, Truro, Kenwyn Parish and surrounding parishes and the local clubs operating within them, as well as the new community at Langarth.
Welcoming news of the funding, local Cornwall Councillor Dulcie Tudor said that the grant from the Football Foundation provided the final piece of the jigsaw to getting the community pitch built.
“Everyone who is involved with grass roots football knows how difficult it is to find a place to play, particularly on rainy days “ she said. “Having access to an all-weather pitch which is available 7 days a week all year round will make a huge difference to all these local clubs and groups “.
“We began lobbying for a pitch for Threemilestone Football Club more than eight years ago and, while it has certainly taken a long time to get here, we have ended up with a scheme which is much better than we originally thought.
“This is a really positive day for the community and grass roots sports clubs and I would like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve this”.
Work is continuing to finalise the plans for the day-to-day management of the facility, with an operator due to be appointed prior to the opening of the new pitch.
As well as the new Community Sports Hub, the plans for the Garden Village include providing a wide range of other community assets. These include the first primary school, village squares and business centres; health facilities, parks and urban squares, green spaces, water features, cycle and walking routes and cultural facilities. Work is taking place to develop a stewardship scheme to manage these assets.
Work is also progressing well on the construction of Fordh Langarth (formerly known as the Northern Access Road). The Homes England funded ‘spine’ road, which will connect the development and provide a route from the A390 at West Langarth through to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, is due to be completed in Spring 2026.
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