Truro Sports Hub set for new 3G community pitch

A football arcing through a grey sky over a stretch of churned red earth was as good a way as any to mark the moment. Work has formally started on a new all-weather pitch at Truro Sports Hub, the next step in turning a building site off the western edge of the city into a permanent home for grassroots football.

What’s being built

The project is being led by Cornwall Council. It follows the first phase of the Sports Hub, the floodlit, 3,000-capacity, Football Association compliant pitch completed in 2024 and now used by Truro City Football Club.

The new all-weather community facility is the next phase, and it is described as playing a vital role in delivering Langarth‘s vision of a vibrant, healthy and connected Garden Village. The design complies with current Football Foundation and Football Association guidance to make sure the materials used are appropriate for the site.

Who’s paying for it

The facility is part funded by the Premier League, The FA and the Government’s Football Foundation, which has provided a £746,000 grant towards the cost. The rest of the funding has come from compulsory planning contributions made by developers, and from the Garden Village project itself.

“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,” said Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation.

“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 works are now underway to deliver a new 3G pitch at Truro Sports Hub and we’re excited to see the new facilities in action.”

Cornwall FA’s reaction

The Cornwall Football Association has been working closely with the project team throughout, and is looking forward to seeing the pitch welcome its first teams.

“Cornwall FA is excited to see work start on another community 3G pitch in the Duchy,” said Daniel Greenough, Cornwall FA’s Facilities and Finance Manager. “We have been working hard in the background with various stakeholders to support the development of football and sport participation, and these kinds of facilities allow that to happen.

“Linked with the Cornwall Playing Pitch Strategy and Local Football Facility Plan, this development will allow football to be sustained and developed in the area. We cannot wait for this to be opened, and will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure maximum benefit for the local community.”

The clubs who’ve been waiting for it

The facility will be used by local clubs approached as part of the council’s funding application to the Football Foundation. Threemilestone Football Club, Truro City Youth Football Club and Grasshoppers Football Club have been identified as anchor clubs for the project.

For Threemilestone, the news marks the end of a long search for a permanent base. “We are delighted to see work begin on constructing the new community pitch,” said Lee Goodall, Chair of Threemilestone Football Club. “We are the only football team and club in Threemilestone and the immediate surrounding areas, and being able to use the new pitch will be a huge step forward for us.

“We have been without a permanent ground of our own since 2013, forcing us to consistently seek, and hire, other pitches, often at unaffordably high rates. This has affected our ability to not only build our current team but to develop opportunities for other age groups and introduce a girls’ football team.

“Grassroots football brings families and friends together and strengthens local identity as well as building long lasting relationships. We are very grateful to Cornwall Council and the Langarth Garden Village project team for identifying us as an anchor club. Having safe, consistent, year round access to an all-weather pitch will give future footballing wannabees in our community a great place to learn, grow and develop.”

The team building it

Construction is being carried out by a consortium of TigerTurf (UK) Ltd and McArdle Sport Tec, working together under the Football Foundation’s artificial grass pitch supplier framework.

“We are immensely proud to be delivering the new 3G community sports pitch at Truro Sports Hub in partnership with Cornwall Council and the Football Foundation,” said Mark Taylor, Framework Manager on behalf of the TigerTurf and McArdle Sport Tec consortium. “TigerTurf and McArdle Sport Tec have worked together since the inception of the Football Foundation’s AGP supplier framework, and together our partnership has delivered nearly 400 artificial sports pitches through the framework.

“Truro Sports Hub is another important example of how high-quality, artificial turf pitches can support grassroots football, widen access to sport and help communities stay active throughout the year.”

What happens next

Construction is due to be completed in spring 2027, with the pitch initially open with temporary facilities before permanent ones follow. Once complete, the new pitch will provide seven days a week, all-weather, floodlit training facilities for clubs and organisations across Truro and the surrounding areas. Cornwall Council will shortly be appointing an operator for the facility, to be managed in line with similar 3G facilities elsewhere in the country.

Future phases of the Sports Hub project will bring new changing rooms and a club house. Once the community pitch is finished, Truro Sports Hub will become the largest permanent sports events facility in Cornwall, and all partners have committed to making sure the new facilities are accessible to the existing communities of Threemilestone, Truro, Kenwyn parish and the surrounding parishes, as well as to the new community taking shape at Langarth.

The pitch is one part of a much bigger plan. Alongside the Sports Hub, the wider Garden Village is set to include a primary school, a community building, village squares and business centres, health facilities, parks, green spaces, water features, cycle and walking routes and cultural facilities, with work under way on a stewardship scheme to manage them. Following hard on the heels of the opening of Fordh Langarth earlier this year, the start of construction on the 3G pitch is another sign of the council putting infrastructure in place before the new houses arrive.