Alton Town Council took the first step in paving the way for us to move back to our old home in Anstey Park last night (10th February) when they agreed in principal to allow Coors to fund an upgrade of the Anstey Park Enclosure to Wessex League standards. This would include re-laying a new, flat pitch, installing floodlights, extending the clubhouse and close boarding the boundary. We are still examining the suitability of the changing rooms and would be pressing for demolition and a rebuild.
The plans, as they stand, would mean us losing our enclosed floodlit training space although we will continue to address this shortfall.
Our old home would be made available after Alton United Youth, current users of the Enclosure, move further into Anstey Park to a new facility which would include an enclosed stadium and further smaller pitches for their younger teams.
All of the above is subject to obtaining planning permission and, of course, is also subject to Coors being successful in getting planning permission to build on our current site. They are presently applying for planning permission for a supermarket.
There are many more steps to be taken in this process and nothing is guaranteed but at least a start has been made.
