THE plight of a junior football club in Warrington has been raised in Parliament by one of the town’s MPs.

Warrington South MP Andy Carter spoke of Cromwell Athletic Junior Football Club in the House of Commons today, Thursday.

It was heard that the Westbrook based club have had to cancel close to 70 per cent of games scheduled for grass pitches this season due to the ground being ‘unplayable’

It came during questions to Lucy Frazer, who is Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on sports facilities and funding.

Mr Carter first asked the Secretary of State: “What assessment has she made of the effectiveness of the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme in funding new sports facilities?

In response, Ms Frazer said: “Between 2021 and 2025, the Government has committed more than £325million to grassroots sports sites across the whole of the UK.

“That is part of our commitment to ensure every community has the facilities it needs.

“So far, almost 2,400 sites have been supported, creating more opportunities for people of all backgrounds across the country to get active.

Mr Carter continued: “Cromwell Athletic, who play at Mary Ann Meadows in my constituency, have had to cancel almost 70 per cent of their grass pitch games this season because conditions have made the ground simply unplayable.

“The pitch improvement programme shows that we need around eight 3G pitches in Warrington to cope with demand.

“Could my right honourable friend set out what support is available to clubs with significant junior membership?

“I invite her back to Warrington to see some of the teams who are struggling to access 3G pitches to talk about how we can help them.”

Addressing the points raised, Ms Frazer commented: “Through our investment via the Football Foundation in England, we are actively supporting teams such as Cromwell Athletic up and down the country to get new artificial grass pitches.

“We funded the goalposts at Barrow Hall Primary School and put in a new artificial grass pitch at Cardinal Newman Catholic High School.

“It was a pleasure to visit my honourable friend’s constituency, and I would be happy to meet him to discuss this issue further.”