A rundown concrete court transformed into two state-of-the-art all-weather sports pitches on The Wirral will receive a Royal visit on Thursday.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, will visit Guinea Gap Leisure Centre in Wallasey, which boasts a 25m competition swimming pool, fitness studios and a sauna, and the 5-a-side multi-use games areas (MUGAs).
Wirral Council’s leisure, parks & events website reports that ‘pool and sauna opening times will change’ on Thursday due to the visit by the second in line to the throne.
Building the two short-sided pitches in place of the old ‘concrete cage’ at the back of Guinea Gap was part of a wider scheme of improvements at the leisure centre.
The old pitch and enclosure were ripped out and replaced with a new 3G astroturf surface, enclosed by bespoke combined mesh fence panels and railings installed by Dawn Fencing of Leigh, which has been more than 30 years and is the only fencing contractor dedicated solely to sports.
The pitches feature the new generation of artificial grass and provide the perfect surface for five or six-a-side football as it is hardwearing and can be used in all weathers while retaining the look and feel of natural grass.
The pitches are divided by a 3m divider fence to create two 20x32m playing surfaces.
To aid ball retention, the fencing goes up to 6m high, comprised of Zaun Limited’s Duo8 Super Rebound combined with 1.8m high blunt top railings on one side, all fixed to the same fence posts to maximise through visibility.
The twin horizontal wire panels are highly durable, low maintenance, ‘graffiti proof, and offer great rebound properties similar to a wall.
At the time, Wirral councillor Chris Meaden, cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said: “The football ‘cage’ at Guinea Gap had fallen into a terrible state and needed replacing, and we believe there will be a tremendous demand for the new, state of the art pitches which are currently being developed at the centre.”
