Youngs Park Aylsham AGP

The Youngs Park project in Aylsham involved the installation of a full-sized 3G artificial grass pitch, replacing the existing natural turf pitch. In addition to offering a valuable new facility for the local community, this initiative aimed to support various strategic outcomes, including Sport England's Uniting the Movement strategy and the Greater Norwich Physical Activity and Sport Strategy (PASS).  

The Greater Norwich Growth Board allocated £250,000 funding to this project, which along with £543,816 from the Football Foundation and £23,000 from the Youngs Community Sports Trust and Aylsham FC, funded the construction of a new 3G AGP, fencing, LED floodlights, and ancillary facilities such as spectator hardstanding, maintenance equipment, and a storage container. 

The new 3G pitch significantly enhances Aylsham FC's capacity to host football activities. The previous grass pitch could accommodate around 90 affiliated matches and limited training sessions. In contrast, the new 3G pitch can support up to 250 affiliated 11v11 matches, youth matches on weekends, and offer evening training for over 25 teams weekly. 

The pitch will also be used to help grow the club's outreach and grass roots initiatives, such as recreational football, women and girls specific initiatives, walking football and disability football. 

Construction began in March 2024 and completed in June 2024. The successful completion of the 3G artificial grass pitch at Youngs Park supports the planned growth in Aylsham, providing enhanced facilities for football activities and contributing to broader strategic goals. 

The initial £1.25m facility project at Youngs Park was completed in November 2015. It used 20 acres of gifted farmland and a £500k contribution, as part of a S106 agreement. Aylsham FC raised over £40k themselves and successfully secured £450k grants from the Football Foundation and Sport England.