New Home For Formby
Sat 25th May 2013 | Formby | By Ian Templeman
Formby have announced a new ground share agreement with Burscough FC for the next two seasons.
The deal that will see the Squirrels playing home games at the Evo-Stik League Division One North club's Victoria Park has been set up as an interim measure while the club looks to find a new permanent ground.
The club issued the following statement on their website.
Formby FC are delighted to announce that we have agreed a ground share with Burscough FC for the next two seasons.
Therefore we will be playing home games at Victoria Park. During this time it is hoped to find a new permanent ground for the club.
The move away from Altcar Road started in January when we were made aware of doubts about the future lease there. We requested an urgent meeting with the League Management Committee at which they encouraged us to explore a ground share option, which we began to do.
We were then offered a one season reprieve at Altcar Road which we believed would give us the time to secure the club's future. However, the unexpected failing of the ground grading at Altcar Road threw our plans into turmoil so we rekindled talks on the ground share whilst preparing our appeal to the FA on the grading issues.
The Committee at Burscough FC were especially welcoming and the terms of the agreement offered a better chance of a secure future for Formby FC than trying to satisfy the League's demands.
Because of this, and the swift resolution and certainty it provides, we decided not to continue with the grading appeal and instead to work with Burscough FC on making the ground share a success for both clubs. This means that we will be playing in the NWCFL First Division next season.
The club wishes to thank Burscough FC, in particular Martin Gilchrist and Dave Hughes, as well as Hugh McAuley, the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League and the North West Counties Football League for their assistance in arranging the ground share.
We also want to express gratitude to all who have helped during the eleven years at Altcar Road. The Squirrels’ first game at Victoria Park will be a pre-season friendly against their landlords.
Club Secretary Adrian Cork commented, "The idea of a ground share was first mooted in January when the club looked likely to be evicted from Altcar Road. For a time it really looked as though we wouldn't be here at all next season.
"But things improved and, having responded to the work we were told to do, failing the ground grading came as a complete surprise to us. As it turned out a complete break from Altcar Road was the only serious long-term option.
"The Linnets offer everything we need to continue. They couldn't have been more co-operative and supportive, making us feel more like partners than tenants. The facilities and support are an ideal platform for us to establish an improved club that will hopefully have a decent base of its own in the near future".
New Home For Formby
Sat 25th May 2013 | Formby
By Ian Templeman
Formby have announced a new ground share agreement with Burscough FC for the next two seasons.
The deal that will see the Squirrels playing home games at the Evo-Stik League Division One North club's Victoria Park has been set up as an interim measure while the club looks to find a new permanent ground.
The club issued the following statement on their website.
Formby FC are delighted to announce that we have agreed a ground share with Burscough FC for the next two seasons.
Therefore we will be playing home games at Victoria Park. During this time it is hoped to find a new permanent ground for the club.
The move away from Altcar Road started in January when we were made aware of doubts about the future lease there. We requested an urgent meeting with the League Management Committee at which they encouraged us to explore a ground share option, which we began to do.
We were then offered a one season reprieve at Altcar Road which we believed would give us the time to secure the club's future. However, the unexpected failing of the ground grading at Altcar Road threw our plans into turmoil so we rekindled talks on the ground share whilst preparing our appeal to the FA on the grading issues.
The Committee at Burscough FC were especially welcoming and the terms of the agreement offered a better chance of a secure future for Formby FC than trying to satisfy the League's demands.
Because of this, and the swift resolution and certainty it provides, we decided not to continue with the grading appeal and instead to work with Burscough FC on making the ground share a success for both clubs. This means that we will be playing in the NWCFL First Division next season.
The club wishes to thank Burscough FC, in particular Martin Gilchrist and Dave Hughes, as well as Hugh McAuley, the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League and the North West Counties Football League for their assistance in arranging the ground share.
We also want to express gratitude to all who have helped during the eleven years at Altcar Road. The Squirrels’ first game at Victoria Park will be a pre-season friendly against their landlords.
Club Secretary Adrian Cork commented, "The idea of a ground share was first mooted in January when the club looked likely to be evicted from Altcar Road. For a time it really looked as though we wouldn't be here at all next season.
"But things improved and, having responded to the work we were told to do, failing the ground grading came as a complete surprise to us. As it turned out a complete break from Altcar Road was the only serious long-term option.
"The Linnets offer everything we need to continue. They couldn't have been more co-operative and supportive, making us feel more like partners than tenants. The facilities and support are an ideal platform for us to establish an improved club that will hopefully have a decent base of its own in the near future".
