Sport England - Movement Fund has provided £15,000 of match funding
New Astro pitch & Spectator Area at Neston Hockey
Neston, Cheshire West and Chester, United Kingdom
Closing soon
Don't miss your chance to donate
Aim
Help Neston Hockey raise £30,000 towards the total project costs to replace our end of life artificial pitch & improve the spectators area
Who are we?
We need your help again...
In 2023 and 2024 we asked for your help to transform two parts of our multi sports club for use by the community, A fantastic new fitness studio and new outdoor cricket nets - your response was overwhelming. With your generosity and match funding from the Sport England initiative we raised over £50,000 and we now have a wonderful state of the art fitness space and outdoor cricket nets - getting more people of all age active and into sport.
Two years later we are now looking for your help again in 2026. This time helping us to transform our Hub of Hockey here at Neston - the artificial pitch (used for much more than hockey!) and our spectator area.
We have lots of rewards (old & new) so please do all you can and dig deep again to help us get even more people into sport yet again.
Who are we?
The Neston Club is a historic, non profit community sports & social hub in Parkgate on the banks of the River Dee, Cheshire dating back to 1881. Giving a warm welcome and offering a wide range of sports such as Hockey, Cricket, Tennis, Table Tennis, Squash, Racketball, Bowls and Fitness to young and old to a diverse local community.
Neston Hockey is an integral and vibrant part of the Neston Club and is one of the country's most inclusive hockey clubs with artificial pitch and great social facilities all on one site.
Whatever your age or hockey ability you are welcome to play at Neston – we have a team for you.
Every Saturday in the autumn/winter we run six senior men's sides and four Ladies sides. Our mens 1st XI returning to the National League structure last year after a 30-year absence, with a team made up from players who have grown up through our junior hockey set up, a tremendous achievement.
The Junior Section is one of the largest around with over 200 children - girls & boys from age 2 on our very successful All Sports Stars initiative through to aged 18.
Hockey is an all year-round sport here at Neston and as soon as the official Hockey season ends, our summer league hockey starts, all organised and arranged by the club we welcome other clubs from all over the local area including a number of school sides taking part in fun, relaxed, all ability competition throughout the warmer months.
Why are we crowdfunding?
The artificial pitch is not only used for club hockey it is a hub for numerous other community sports and groups.
The club prides itself on being a focal point of the community and is welcoming to everybody. We focus our efforts on reaching out to as many people as we can, as we believe sport to be so important both physically and mentally in these challenging times ever more dominated by technology and screens.
We have been very successful in getting the younger generation back into sport with over 300 taking part in our All-Sports Stars initiative and club/school outreach programme over the last three years, all of which use the artificial pitch for various sports such as cricket, football, tennis not only hockey.
In addition to this, we welcome to the artificial pitch - local football clubs for training, social football groups, University of Liverpool Leahurst Veterinary school and several local schools who do not have hockey facilities available to their students.
The old pitch is over seventeen years old, has been patched/repaired several times and in urgent need of replacing. If it is not replaced soon, then we will have to consider reducing the amount of activity on the surface. The new pitch will eliminate this risk and mean that the club and all the above community groups can continue to play their sport safely and locally for years to come.
In addition to replacing the actual playing surface our plans also include a major and much needed improvement to our spectator viewing area which today is totally inadequate for wheelchair access. The project includes provision of a new path from the disabled car parking zone to a new tarmac area with low level safety fence to allow excellent visibility for all.
On the new tarmac area there will also be provision for a new enclosed seating area to allow supporters and parents to take shelter during matches and training.
Making the area much more welcoming to watch and enjoy sport.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Any donation or money from a reward purchased will go directly to the pitch development project and help us sustain hockey and other sports for all and allow us to offer so much more to the wider community.
We have already raised over £200,000 from a sinking fund we have had in place from when the pitch was first laid back in 2009 and from recent private donations.
We also plan to take advantage of opportunities from funding bodies such as England Hockey Board, England Cricket Board, Sports England, corporate sponsors and national/local authority grants as we drive towards our overall project target of over £365,000.
This crowdfunding appeal will help all the above in raising awareness and look to raise £30,000 to help part fund the exciting plans. Thanks to Sport England's Movement Fund, this appeal will benefit from matched funding. This means that for every £1 you donate, the appeal will receive £2.
Environmental and sustainability is also an area we are investigating with this project, the artificial pitch and new surroundings back onto one of our cricket pitches and we are looking at what is possible with respect to the storing/ using water from the new area for our cricket square.
In summary
- New Tiger Turf carpet - We have chosen a blue pitch with a pink surround, which are are club colours but also proven to help visibility for players, umpires & supporters.
- A new 5-metre-wide x 40m long tarmac spectator area with a 1.2-metre fence, fully wheelchair accessible from the disabled car parking area.
- A new 50 seat covered stand on the above tarmac area to improving viewing and shelter for supporters and parents watching sport.
- New dugouts for players & umpires - to improve safety and comfort for players not on the pitch.
Community impact
We have been a community-based sports club for nearly 150 years offering sport to all.
A family-based club with members aged 2 to 98, with several three generation families actively taking part in sport.
We are continually looking to grow our membership numbers with a focus on accessibility to those in the community who do not have access to our sports through school or opportunity.
The new pitch and much improved surrounding area will help us to continue our partnerships with local schools and the Leahurst Veterinary school who do not have facilities of their own
Our All-Sports Stars initiative has been hugely successful across the community where each year over 160 children (aged 3 to 5) receive 20 weeks free coaching for our low-cost membership fee of only £60. It gives the children an introduction to all our sports where the artificial pitch is used extensively for three of the sports hockey, cricket and tennis, the new pitch will allow us to continue to provide this fantastic introduction to sport and the new spectator area will provide parents/supporters, often with younger siblings/babies a much improved viewing experience.
As a club we are keen to promote fitness and wellness to the local community wherever we can. The new pitch and surrounding area will provide a massive boost and encouragement to our plans on all fronts. One area we are looking to expand into is the 65 plus still active age group where the pitch will be ideal for daytime activities such as walking hockey, cricket, football etc. An All-Sport Stars for the 65 plus age group!
Photography - Courtesy of Andrew Mills (Glenton Media & Events), Simon Joseph Photography and Ian Parry - Thank you for all your efforts over the season.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 17th June 2026 at 8:57am