A PLAN to build a new all-weather sports pitch is set to cost at least £800,000 according to a new council report.

Worcester City Council is looking to build a new all-weather 3G sports pitch at Perdiswell Leisure Centre at a cost of £800,000.

Councillors will meet this week to discuss setting aside an initial £200,000 boost to give officers the chance to get a hold of government money to help develop the project and draw up designs for the new facility.

At the moment, the new facility would cost £68,4000 to run annually with the council expecting to make around £90,000 a year to cover the cost.

Councillors agreed to put aside £25,000 in 2018 for a study about a potential new futsal facility and all-weather pitch at the leisure centre.

Those plans were then put on the back burner by the council until early 2020 and in the meantime, the Football Foundation - the charity responsible for channelling government, FA and Premier League money into grassroots football – said the city needed more smaller-sided pitches and a new all-weather pitch.

The plans were dusted off in November last year and councillors agreed to take another look at the project and whether it could still be afforded.

The review found that the council would need money from the Football Foundation if it wanted to move ahead with building a new 3G pitch with an agreement that any profit made from the new facility would have to be reinvested or set aside for maintenance.

The commitment of £200,000 would give the city council access to support from the Football Foundation to help develop its plans and draw out designs.

The city council has been looking at several options to build new facilities at Perdiswell Leisure Centre including new five-a-side pitches, an all-weather pitch and a futsal arena.

A number of studies have been carried out in the last four years focusing on building a new futsal facility – the latest of which suggested that the estimated cost had risen by £500,000 to around £3.4 million.

The council’s communities committee will be meeting in the Guildhall from 7pm on Wednesday, June 8.