By Rory McKee
THERE could be positive news in the next fortnight for Ards Football Club and their dream of once again playing senior football in Newtownards.
A planning application for a new 2,000-capacity stadium, to be built just a stone’s throw from the club’s former Castlereagh Park home, will be considered at the next meeting of Ards and North Down Council’s Planning Committee in early March.
Planning officers have recommended that councillors give the green light to the project.
In August 2022, more than two decades after the gates slammed shut on Castlereagh Park, Ards FC signed a long-term lease to build a new ground on six acres of land on the Portaferry Road, known as the Floodgates.
In the region of £80,000 has been spent by the club advancing the project since then, while an appeal to the local community raised close to £20,000 towards the costs incurred.
However, in September the club was dealt a body blow when its bid to net a share of long-awaited Department for Communities money for football facilities – rebranded as the NI Football Fund – was unsuccessful.
Twenty football clubs across Northern Ireland’s top three divisions saw their projects advance to the next stage of the funding programme, but Ards and fellow nomadic club Institute were among those whose plans were overlooked.
Speaking at the time of the announcement, Ards FC chairman Warren Patton hit out at the scoring criteria for the programme, which he said inherently left Ards at a disadvantage.
In a social media address this week, Mr Patton reiterated the club’s appreciation for the support they have received throughout the journey so far.
“I think it’s very important to thank all the volunteers who are doing so much to help the club,” he said. “It’s also important that we thank the local community for their support around our ground fund appeal.
“The planning application has been submitted and it is now live with Ards and North Down Council. If it passes, that will enable us to apply for local funding, private investment and so many doors will open,” he added.
“We were let down by the funding from Stormont, but as I said in the press at the time, we can’t take this lightly and lie down. We are determined to bring senior football back to the town and if our planning application is passed, it will hopefully be the start of a new beginning.”
Hopeful progress on Ards’ ground plans comes as efforts gather pace to establish a fan-led support group to assist the current board of directors.
A first meeting of supporters interested in helping the club with practical and financial matters was held at the start of February, with the board giving its blessing to the idea.
Ards FC supporter liaison officer Adrian Monaghan, who has helped to co-found the support group, said: “This is the smallest number of directors which has been on the board for a long time, and we as supporters recognise there is a lot of work for them to do and not a lot of them.
“The practical help would be things like supplying stewards where it’s needed and helping to operate the turnstiles,” he explained.
“Financially, we are going to reinvent the Friends of Ards scheme which was started many years ago and has sort of fallen by the wayside.
“We’re encouraging as many supporters as possible to take out a standing order, which would help the board with day to day costs as well as the extra expenditure which has come with the ground plans.”
