Essex club Harwich have lambasted a local council’s decision not to replace a dilapidated pitch as ‘disgraceful’ which could force the 1948-founded women’s side to fold.
Harwich and Dovercourt were league champions in 2021 but say that unfit conditions at their base, a pitch which was laid in 2004, left no home games being able to be played while players were forced to jump ship to other clubs for a season.
The women’s team has now been able to reform but have cited similar conditions at the pitch which has had threadbare repairs.
This comes despite a Tendring Council-commissioned report eight years ago, which cost £65,000, that summarised that the council should replace one of the existing pitches in the area.
The club say that the council “ignored” this report.
Club chairman Chris Rowland with a maximum of 15 years before it needed to be resurfaced.
He added: “I appreciate times are hard, but it’s been going on about eight years probably.
“If we don’t get a home pitch there will be no hockey pitch in Tendring, there will not be one hockey pitch in tending. This council is killing sport in Tendring.”
Club member Val Bawden said: “We have definitely been pushed on the back burner. It is disgraceful that the pitch has been so neglected.”
