Funding success lights up Nailers

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Belper Town will soon have some of the best floodlighting in Non-League football.

Thanks to a major grant from The Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF), the First Division South club are set to double the existing lighting levels at Christchurch Meadow within six months.

The Nailers are also looking forward to saving money on their energy bills and cutting the club's carbon footprint when the new energy efficient system using the latest technology is installed.

Club officials are now pushing ahead with plans after announcing on Friday that they'd received a £35,000 grant from the FSIF, supporters of the Football Foundation and the largest funder of Non-League football in the country.

Belper's Company Secretary David Laughlin said: "We are indebted to FSIF for their assistance with our application and for their financial contribution, which will cover 46 per cent of the £76,000 overall cost of the project.

"In recent years our floodlighting system has been giving us real cause for concern but the new system will offer us a reliable, energy efficient and infinitely superior system that will serve us well for the next 20 years or more. The new system will provide an average lux (lighting level) of 350, which will enable the club to progress up the Non-League system if we can deliver success on the pitch.

Laughlin added: "Without the help of FSIF, there is no doubt that we would not have been able to afford this major development to our Christchurch Meadow ground. We hope to install the new floodlights over the next six months."

Funded with £6m each year from the Premier League, the FSIF is the country’s largest provider of grants towards projects that help improve the comfort and safety of lower league grounds in both the professional and amateur game. Improvements range from new football stands and turnstiles to floodlighting and improved provision for disabled supporters.

FSIF Chairman Peter McCormick said: "I am delighted to be able to award Belper Town Football Club this grant to enable them to improve their facilities. FSIF staff work hard to make sure that the funding that is generously provided by the Premier League each year goes as far as possible and benefits as many clubs and supporters as it possibly can."