These are the up to date Plans which have been put forward to the planners.
The club now awaits their approval.

The Problem: A Worsening Facilities Crisis

Since Tenterden Tigers Junior Football Club has no facilities of its own, the 300 + youngsters within the club currently train and/or play their matches in five different locations in and around the town. As a broad observation, it is a great shame that those youngsters are deprived of the sense of pride and belonging which can be derived from being involved in 'club days' on a regular basis. On a more specific level, each location has its own drawbacks:

• it is public knowledge that Homewood School are hoping to sell their Appledore Road site (used for training younger age groups) for residential development, if they are able to obtain planning permission.
• the pitches at Biddenden (where four older age groups play their matches) suffer from very poor drainage, frequently causing pitches to become extremely boggy and regularly unplayable.
• the pitch at Appledore (where two more age groups train and play their matches) is excellent but expensive at a cost of £45 per match.
• matches are played at no cost on the front of the recreation ground in Tenterden (for a number of younger age groups) but the line marking trolley has to be transported from the Appledore Road site and pitches marked out afresh every week - a time-consuming chore.
• matches were played on the Tenterden Junior School pitch until we were asked to suspend matches in December due to the condition of the ground.

It is a sad reality that many youngsters within the club have never enjoyed access to changing rooms and toilet facilities on match days, let alone the luxury of a decent playing surface.
Tenterden is put to shame in this regard by the facilities which are on offer to most of our opponents from the surrounding district. Furthermore, we are simply unable to continue the impressive growth of the club as a direct result of this deficiency.

A Crucial Development: The FA Charter Standard 'Community Club' Award

The Football Association established a 'Charter Standard' scheme roughly two years ago as part of its drive to raise standards within grass roots soccer across the country, in order to identify and extend 'good practice' amongst junior football clubs.
I am delighted to say that the efforts of all those involved with Tenterden Tigers Junior Football Club were recognised in December 2002, when we were granted 'Charter Standard Community Club' status by the Football Association.
This is the highest accolade within a three-tier award system and makes us one of only three clubs in Kent having received this prestigious award.
Most pertinent to this discussion, however, is the fact that this development opens up the very real prospect of the club receiving a grant of up to £1m to help resolve our facilities crisis...

The Solution: Funding From The Football Foundation And Local Partners

The Football Foundation is primarily funded by The FA, The Premier League and the National Lottery. It has some £285m available to invest in the development of football in this country, with priority being given to grass roots projects and a predisposition to assist 'Charter Standard' clubs. In short, our club is ideally placed to benefit from a significant capital projects grant from the Football Foundation. I have asked our 'regional assessor' from the Football Foundation to provide a written confirmation of this very real funding prospect and have attached his response.

In order to increase our chances of 'unlocking' this funding, however, we need to pull together a team of local partners with each committing a meaningful amount of money to the project. It is important to note that the money pledged in this way will be subject to a dramatic 'multiplier effect' since the Football Foundation is able to fund up to 90% of project costs for 'community clubs' (on average it awards some 65% of project costs). This money would only be called upon at the stage when we are able to combine the money with similar pledges from other local sources and 'unlock' the funding facility from the Football Foundation. This, in turn, will not be necessary until we are in a position to purchase a suitable area of land in the Tenterden area.

Ultimately, this project will prove to be the 'trigger' to a bright and sustainable future for Tenterden Tigers Junior Football Club and the benefits of such a decision will be enjoyed by a huge number of local youngsters in the years ahead.

If you would like to help out by sponsoring or lending a hand at events please use this form or simply contact Graham Smith on : 01580 764783