Watford Borough Football Club

  WATFORD BOROUGH FOOTBALL CLUB    A club for the community, for the town, for you      Voting for club name    Watford Borough 66%  Watford Union 16%  Watford Eclipse 9%  Watfordians 9%      Colours    The club colours will also represent the colours of the town crest. Red and yellow representing the background of the badge (and shells) for the home strip, and blue representing the river Colne, for the away strip Home Away     

  Watford Borough Football Club and the Watford Community Stadium Project    The Vision    If a ground is to be eventually approved by Watford Borough Council, the ground will not only be home to Watford Borough FC, but will also become a community hub for the local community, where we hope to have youth teams as well as girls and ladies teams, and even, if there is enough interest, an LGBT team, so that all associated with the football club will become a whole entity and so that all genders with a love of the game can enjoy the sport. We will also welcome \"walking football\", so that the over 50's can still remain an active part of the community. We would like to call the ground to be called the \"Watford Community Stadium\", which we intend to be a basic football ground, with barriers around both pitch and ground for security, a stand for around 150 - 200 people (with a disabled area), possible 3-5 tier terracing and floodlights as well as dressing rooms and a clubhouse. The pitch can either be grass or 3/4G. If the latter, then this would enable more clubs to use the pitch with little long term maintenance concerns. The reason for having a ground with floodlights and possibly a 3 or 4G pitch is so that Watford Borough FC can compete in the Herts County League, and, when successful enough, gain promotion to enter either the Spartan South Midlands or Combined Counties League and compete in FA Vase and FA Cup competitions. On the community side of things, we would ideally like to incorporate a charity shop and a food bank as well as a café and social area, so that individuals, families, and local community groups can all come along and enjoy all facilities. The football club and committee will also do all they can to encourage local groups for the young and old, charities, ethnic groups and schools to use the facilities as well as the disabled and unemployed.

Watford Borough Football Club D.N.A  What is Watford Borough FC and the Watford Community Stadium? With the support of Watford Borough Council, Watford Borough FC will become the senior local non league football club representing the town of Watford, and supporting​ t​ he welfare of the people and supplying aid to the local community. It is to become a place where everybody can feel safe, no matter what their age, colour, creed, religion or sexuality. We aim for the Watford Community Stadium to become the “hub”, the centre part of the local community, where people can come down for a chat and a cup of tea, for coffee mornings and activities for people both young and old. Why is it important? ​To become the cornerstone of the community and provide support from club and committee to local groups and individuals. To help strengthen the bonds between the club and the community, and to represent the interests of the supporters and the community in the running of the club. ● To benefit the community through the promotion of football and other sports as a recreational activity. ● Help provide, maintain and preserve facilities for the enjoyment of football and other sports. ● Help promote coaching schemes for all in the community. ● To help promote Watford become a cleaner and greener town, by setting in place battery and electrical banks for recycling and offering free tap water for people with reusable bottles ● We would also be willing to use certain matches as fund raising days to collect money for various charities including the local homeless, alternatively having a “donation box” to help raise funds. ● A place for the elderly to come and have the opportunity to meet others to chat and have a cuppa! ● A place for mothers to chat with fellow mum’s or dad’s and young children to come and play ● We will happily advertise other council based activities around the clubhouse and support the council wherever we can. ● We would happily encourage other sports teams to use the ground. For example, Watford Ladies FC could come back to Watford, alternatively Garston Ladies could use the ground and facilities, both of these clubs would be given first opportunity to have a ground where they can feel at home. Alternatively, if neither club were interested, then we would be pleased to start up a new ladies football team ourselves. ● We would actively encourage a Watford based team to take part in the GFN (Gay Football Network) National league as well ● Watford already has Rugby Union teams in Fullerians and Watford Rugby Club, but not any Rugby League team, if anyone would be interested then this would be another sport that we would be willing to help.

● Watford also had Glenn Rovers, a Gaelic Football team that played in Oxhey Park before the redevelopment of the area. Once again we would be willing to assist them in any way should they require assistance in restarting again. Who owns it? Watford Borough Council will own the club and facilities. ​Although there will be a football based committee, everybody who uses the ground and its facilities will be able to become an important part of the club. Every member will have the chance to own one share (club membership) only, with a value of £5 annually, those shares cannot be traded or transferred. Although club members will receive additional benefits, non-club members will always be welcome to use all facilities for an additional fee. Although everybody becomes a part of the club, no one person can become sole owner. Every club member will have the right to vote in all aspects of running the hub. Will it be just for football purposes? No, not at all. If our vision does go ahead, then we will fully support any sporting club that would require any help, as well as help promote Watford Council's Sports Development Departments sports programmes, such as: Watford Get Active Projects • Health Walks - free weekly, volunteer led walks for all abilities • Disability Sports - activities for people with disabilities • Outdoor gyms • Cycling - local led rides taking place across the borough • BoxCleva - boxing for 7-15 year olds • Big Sport - Watford's Big Sports Day • Fit 4 Fun - 5 week healthy eating programme delivered to Year 4's in Watford schools • Shape Up - free 12 week weight management course for men & women • Active Herts • The \"This Girl Can\" project

Possible planning permission issues & answers Floodlights:​ ​We will ensure that these will be turned off by 10pm at the latest when evening matches have been arranged. Litter:​ E​ nough bins will be provided around the ground, inside and out, so that there will not be excess litter problems among the local community. Noise:​ ​There should be little noise coming from the vicinity, very much like in a normal public park. Loss of daylight: ​None for the local residents, the clubhouse and stand will be no higher than around 10-15 feet high. Access for disabled people​: ​We would like to arrange suitable access for disabled people as we want everybody to feel a valued member of the community. Parking issues​: A​ lthough we would like there to be enough room for suitable parking, at our level of football and even at the level where we want to be, this should not cause any problems. Potential areas for ground.​ Although we would appreciate absolutely anywhere in the Watford area, we feel that any park would be ideal for the ground, such areas as: Radlett Road (close to the railway embankment would be ideal - away from the Watford rugby club and slightly closer to the town and local housing estates) Leavesden Park Cassiobury Park Garston Park Oxhey Park Alternative areas will be considered All ideal local community areas close to schools, shops, offices where a football club could become an essential part of the community. Other local football clubs that have used part of a park for the use of a ground which have become integral to their communities include the following: Southend Manor FC, Barking FC, Edgware Town/ Hendon FC, Wembley FC, South Kilburn FC, East Preston FC, St Albans City and Chesham United Other possible areas where there may be unused ground, for example: ​The patch of land situated behind Meriden flats, between the A41 North Western Avenue and The Meadows/ Harvest End...a new housing estate with nothing currently available for the nearby community. Another alternative would be to use some land within an industrial estate, of which there are plenty within Watford and Croxley. ​The following clubs among many others that have used such an area are Uxbridge FC, Skelmersdale United, South Shields FC, Bishops Stortford FC and even Derby County

There is currently a non league football club called Peterborough Northern Star who have built a set up that we would like to use as an example, including a cafe and huge hall attached to their clubhouse for locals and their community to use. We would like to extend the possibility of such a landmark with additional ideas to further aid the community. Another example that we look like to follow would be Needham Market FC, who currently play in the Southern League Central Division and who also have a “community hub” with cafe and bar once they moved to a new ground thanks to money given to them from the National Lottery grant.

The town of Northampton has three well known non league football clubs, Northampton Spencer, Northampton Sileby Rangers and Northampton Chenecks, all play in the United Counties Football League (step 5 of the National Football League Pyramid system), as well as League Two’s Northampton Town. Watford has Watford FC, who play in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup Final last May, but other than that, there is no non league football club in what can be considered central Watford, the nearest being Oxhey Jets (Spartan South Midlands) and Kings Langley (Southern League Premier Central). I recently visited Wallingford Town FC, who have also the kind of set up that I would like to bring to Watford. A football ground with extra space for other sports to take place, as well as that, they have two large buildings, one used as a clubhouse but also for other activities within the community, including a skittles alley! There are three bars and the halls and rooms can be hired out for parties and corporate events. It also has a board to inform locals of the latest activities that are going on within the community, from bingo to pilates! Wallingford Town Football ground





We understand that Watford Borough Council have approved the Parks & Recreation Department a budget of £4.1 million from council tax for last year as well as a large amount of money that has enabled to bring Watford town centre into the 21st century, including a redevelopment programme for the Meriden Estate and plans to improve the upper part of Watford around the pond and Town Hall area. Surely a section of this could go towards the building of a new ground/community hub which will also become a very important and active part of the local community. Naturally, we realise that this would not happen overnight, but the sooner something could hopefully be actioned, the sooner more people in the community can become involved and enjoy what will become a fantastic opportunity for the future of the people of Watford. Sun Sports Football club were the last remaining senior non league football club situated in the actual town of Watford, and in December 2018 they finally folded completely. After losing their home in 2017, they were demoted from the Spartan South Midlands League (for having no home ground), trying to find a new ground, only Queens School offered them a pitch and they continued in the Herts County League Division One for the remainder of the season and eventually had no option but to return back to the ground they were initially evicted from for the new 2018/19 season, But, having to pay to play there, they were unable to find sufficient sponsors and the club folded, joining such local legendary clubs as Leavesden Hospital FC, Benskins Athletic, Scammell, Odhams and the Watford British Legion. With all this local history being lost, it is such a shame that these Watford based clubs should disappear forever. We are certainly not expecting a ground of the Emirates Stadium proportions, just somewhere where we can call home and also put something back into the local community and for the people of Watford as a whole. The initial intention for the football club is to have a 5-7 year plan set in place. This will be to start life as a Division Two club in the Herts Senior County League, and to gain promotions through Division One and the Premier Division of the County League, and to gain entry into the Spartan South Midlands or the Combined Counties League and to compete in the FA Vase and the FA Cup as well as the Herts Senior Cup. . We would finally like to remind you that a club such as ours would need to survive purely on goodwill, donations and the sponsorship of local businesses, as we are a non profit making club/organisation, where any money that had been made would be put back directly into the club and would not be used for any personal gain.               

  U. K Companies that specifically build stadiums      Reid Steel    http://www.reidsteel.com/steel-buildings/grandstands-and-stadia/standard-grandstands/        Stadium Solutions    https://www.stadiumsolutions.co.uk/services/        Ground grading regulations    National ground Grading H    https://www.stadiumsolutions.co.uk/static/media/uploads/Ground%20Gradings/July%202018/grade-h-july-2018. pdf