Mainsforth Sports Complex

Portfolio Holder - Councillor Valman Woods

Mainsforth Sports Complex is situated on the Eastern Edge of Town on the site of the former Mainsforth Colliery and has been maintained by the Town Council since 1974. The Town Council secured ownership of the whole site in 2001.

The Sports Complex achieved second place in the Best Sports Ground category of Northumbria in Bloom in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and finally achieved first place in this category in 2007. The facility contains Mainsforth Cricket Club, 2 football pitches with changing facilities, 1 bowling green with bowls pavilion, a fishing pond, countryside walks and a children’s play area.

Over the last three years the Complex has been vastly improved, due to £150,000 worth of grant funding, which has successfully been obtained by the Town Council.

A play area has been installed, new boundary wall, fencing and gates erected, new hedges and trees planted, a new drive installed, the creation of new flowerbeds, as well as considerable improvements made to the bowling greens.

The Complex is continuously praised by members of the public and the various groups who use the facility, including Durham Bowls Association and Durham County Cricket Under 18’s, as well as local football clubs, Black Bull FC, Eldon Arms FC, West Cornforth over 40’s FC, Mainsforth Bowls Club and Mainsforth Cricket Club.

More recent improvements to take place include the installation of a hedge and fence to screen off the Polytunnel area, planting of 20 trees, 500 bulbs and a new area for the cricket sight screen.

Mainsforth Cricket Club and Mainsforth Bowls Club have each recently secured a grant of £10,000 with the support of the Town Council for improvements to both facilities and the purchase of equipment.

In the longer term, the Town Council wishes to develop new changing facilities for the cricket and football teams who use the complex.