Horncastle Education Trust (HET) has announced plans to develop a new sports hub at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (QEGS) on West Street which will also be open to the public.

As part of the Sport First project the existing playing fields will be reconfigured and enhanced to include:

• A full-size 3G football pitch

• A full-size school rugby pitch

• A mini soccer 7 v 7 grass football pitch

• A youth 11 v 11 grass football pitch

• A junior artificial cricket wicket

• Six cricket nets

• Six clay or ‘sand-dressed’ courts for tennis, netball, hockey and basketball

• A range of athletics facilities including an eight-lane running track as well as long/triple jump, high jump, javelin and shot put facilities. 

Chief Executive of the Horncastle Education Trust Sandra James said the plans are part of the trust’s commitment to working with the community, the public, private and voluntary sectors for the benefit of everyone living in Horncastle.

“As a trust at the heart of the communities we serve, we have a civic duty not only to advance education, as you would expect, but also to serve the people living and working in the vicinity of our schools and help to improve their lives through the provision of recreation or other leisure facilities.

“Working with local clubs and organisations, along with LK2 Chartered Architects and sports consultants Magna Vitae Charitable Trust and East Lindsey District Council (ELDC), we are delighted to announce our plans to create an exciting new inclusive sports hub.

“The facilities will be enjoyed by young people during school hours, and then be available to the community during evenings, weekends and school holidays.”

Sandra presented the plans at a Horncastle Town Council meeting on Tuesday (13^th December 2022) and is now inviting the public to share their views as part of a period of consultation which began on 14^th December and will run until 13^th January 2023.  

Anyone who would like to take part can either email the trust at sportfirst@horncastleeducationtrust.org or attend a public consultation evening at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School at 6.30pm on Wednesday 11^th January 2023.

Sandra added: “We want this to be an inclusive project, so we’d like as many people as possible to get in touch. I Look forward to hearing people’s views and meeting them at the school on 11^th January to go through our proposals in further detail.

“In the meantime, I would like to thank you for taking the time to participate and for helping us to create a facility which will contribute to the health and wellbeing of our wider community.”