CAMPAIGNS have been launched for a purpose-built facility for girls and women's football as well as a new play area in Winchester.

The city's girls and women's football club is seeking land for a pitch, and in north Winchester there is a campaign for a MUGA, a multiple use games area.

Matthew Brown, a coach at Winchester City Flyers, told Winchester Town Forum last night of the initiative to find two acres for a 3g artificial pitch.

Mr Brown said: "Girls' football is booming. Girls are flooding into the sport and Winchester City Flyers are forming new teams to meet demand, as they have a policy of not turning anyone away."

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He said across the city some 1,500 people are playing football, male and female, "but the facilities have not kept up with demand."

The recent cold weather saw the postponement of many matches on the grass pitches at King George V playing field in Highfcliffe. The flyers currently use the 1g pitches at Kings' School and the university, designed for hockey "and not conducive to football", said Mr Brown.

As Winchester grows the shortfall in 3g pitches will worsen, he said. Winchester City Football Club has plans for a 3g pitch at its ground in Abbotts Barton but that will not satisfy demand as it is aimed at club members.

Mr Brown said: "Funding is available but the challenge is to find suitable land. It needs to be flat and two acres for a full-size pitch."

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The town forum also heard from Tim Perry who is campaigning for a MUGA in north Winchester to meet a shortfall. St Matthew's Park in Weeke has been identified as a suitable site.

Mr Perry said: "Children are more likely to get involved with physical activity if they have access to a MUGA. Physical health is beneficial to mental health."

He said he hoped there could be access to the CIL, community infrastructure levy, a pot of money created by payments from developers.

Emma Back, chief executive of Winchester Sport and Leisure Trust (SALT), also spoke at the forum about the lack of MUGAs in north Winchester. She said a child living in Godwin Close in Weeke or Teg Down Meads would have to walk two miles to the MUGA in Cromwell Road, Stanmore.

She said: "Winchester SALT has been concerned for some time about the low number of MUGAs in the town area relative to the size of our population, particularly when we consider how many school-age children and young adults live in the town wards. This was clearly illustrated by the 2021 census data presented at the council’s recent Health and Environment Policy committee. It was also clear from that presentation that the wards of St Barnabas and St Paul lack play facilities for older children and youth.

"The community campaign for a new MUGA to serve these wards is therefore really welcome, so many thanks to Tim for getting this going. This local drive for a new MUGA in Weeke is precisely the kind of community-led initiative envisaged in the Winchester Town Vision and its One Great Win exercise, which you’re reviewing as part of your agenda today. It’s also relevant to the '15-minute city' concept explored in the Winchester Town Vision."

Cllr Martin Tod, city council leader, said he supported both initiatives and said St Matthew's Park was a suitable site. But he said funding is tight and any progress would need partnership funding with other agencies.

One challenge, he said, was finding two acres of flat land in Winchester that would be affordable for a football pitch,