Hyndburn Youth club gets new pitch due to £3bn tunnel
The new seven-a-side pitch at Bolton Avenue Recreation Ground has been funded by United Utilities and delivered in partnership with Hyndburn Council
Huncoat United Junior Football Club has marked the start of the new season with a brand-new football pitch, delivered as part of a long-running agreement linked to the multi-billion-pound Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP).
The new seven-a-side pitch at Bolton Avenue Recreation Ground has been funded by United Utilities and delivered in partnership with Hyndburn Council, allowing the club to remain in the village while major tunnelling works take place nearby.
Founded in 1984, Huncoat United faced uncertainty after its original pitch was needed for the construction of an essential 5.5 mile tunnel between Huncoat and Haslingden, with a price tag of up to £3bn.
The tunnel forms part of HARP, a project to upgrade sections of the ageing Haweswater Aqueduct that supplies drinking water to around 2.5 million people across Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria.
The opening of the new facility represents the culmination of a campaign stretching back several years.
The initial proposals to temporarily relocate the club to Great Harwood’s Memorial Playing Fields first sparked opposition from residents and councillors, with concerns raised over the impact on the park and the loss of trees.
But following negotiations involving the club, Hyndburn Council, United Utilities, local councillors and then-MP Sara Britcliffe, an agreement was eventually reached to create a replacement pitch elsewhere on Bolton Avenue playing fields, allowing the club to remain in Huncoat.
Planning permission for the replacement pitch was then granted by Hyndburn Council in August 2024. At the time, council papers stated that the existing seven-a-side pitch would be lost for approximately four years while a construction compound was established to receive a tunnel boring machine and support aqueduct works.
Under the agreement, United Utilities will reinstate the club’s original pitch once construction is complete, leaving Huncoat United with an additional playing surface in the future.
Matt Postlethwaite, United Utilities’ engagement lead for HARP, said: “HARP is a huge project for our region.
“As well as securing water supplies for millions of customers and creating hundreds of jobs, it is important to us to leave a positive legacy for the communities where we are working. We are grateful to the support from Hyndburn Borough Council to make this happen.”
HARP is one of the largest infrastructure projects currently being undertaken in the North West. United Utilities says the wider programme will see around 50km of tunnels replaced along the 110km aqueduct route, with total construction costs estimated at about £3 billion and employing around 1,200 workers at its peak.
Councillor Paul Cox, Hyndburn Council’s head of environmental services, said the project would benefit local young people for years to come.
He said: “We’re delighted to support this arrangement, which secures high-quality football facilities for Huncoat United during and long after the Haweswater Aqueduct project.
“Through positive partnership working with United Utilities and the club, we’ve ensured that local young people continue to have access to football pitches and opportunities to play sport in Huncoat.”
Cllr Cox also paid tribute to the late Huncoat councillor Dave Parkins, saying the scheme reflected the sort of opportunities he had championed throughout his 27 years of service.
Club treasurer John Stitt said: “Huncoat Utd will be forever grateful to United Utilities for replacing our old pitch. The new pitch has just transferred to us and was well worth the wait. As the kids say, it is ‘class’.”