Boreham Wood Athletic Club is planning to resurrect a fundraising drive to pay for its own all-weather running track 24 years after its launch.

The club, which was founded in 1956, has never had its own running track and it currently has to hold its home league matches in Watford.

Members originally started fundraising for a new track in 1978, but the impetus was lost because the borough council could not offer enough support.

The club still has more than £20,000 which it collected and it is now asking for the council's help in seeking lottery funding for the project.

Chair and secretary Pauline Poole said: "Getting this track would mean that we had a real athletics club in the town.

"It would mean we would not have people leaving the club to go elsewhere where they have got proper facilities."

Boreham Wood Athletic Club now has around 150 members, most of whom are children, aged from seven upwards.

An all-weather track would cost around £350,000, and the club would like the council to provide funding to allow them to secure a lottery grant.

The club suggested that, if a track could be laid at the playing fields at the old Hillside School site, pitches could be provided for other sports teams.

Although the county council plans sell part of the site for housing development, it does intend to keep the playing fields for the community.

Councillor Morris Bright, the borough council's portfolio holder for leisure and environment, said he supported the idea of building a new track.

"I look forward to working with interested groups from our communities to see if we can make this happen," he said.

There seemed to be sites which could accommodate such a track in Borehamwood, but he said the matter would have to be investigated further.

The club, which trains at the Hillside site, has not had regular access to a track since a council sports ground at Stirling Corner closed in the 1980s.

August 21, 2002 14:30