Local people are set to benefit from top class footballing facilities including two brand new artificial grass pitches, following the completion of a major sports development project at Rectory Park in Northolt.

The new amenities, which will become the new HQ of its operators Middlesex Football Association (MFA), also include a pavilion, community rooms, car park, changing facilities and office space. The pitches will open in May and provide year-round opportunities for local people of all ages to play football and benefit from physical activity.

Thanks to the completion of the project, local players, teams and community organisations will have access to the high quality astroturf surface which, unlike grass pitches, is less affected by wet and wintery weather and therefore able to be played in all seasons.

Funding for the project has been provided by Ealing Council alongside the MFA, the London Marathon Trust and the Parklife football hubs programme, a national funding scheme that aims to help local communities access high quality pitches and get into football. Rectory Park is the first in London to benefit from Parklife funding and only the second in the whole country.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for transport, leisure and environment said: “I am proud that, as of today, Northolt has become the home of Middlesex Football with the local FA making it their new home. These impressive new facilities will inspire a generation of girls and boys to get involved in football and other sports, get active and fulfil ambitions.  With year-round pitches and programmes we can encourage grass-roots sport and help youngsters from Northolt and beyond to become sport stars of the future.”

Middlesex FA chairman John Taylor said: “Middlesex FA is delighted to have formed a partnership with Ealing that has resulted in the new facility at Rectory Park. We have relocated our headquarters to Rectory Park and will be operating the new football facilities. We are sure that Rectory Park will provide an excellent experience for local people and for those living in the County of Middlesex.”

Andrew Kitchen, director at LK2 – the project’s lead architect – said: “This has been a very exciting project to work on as it is the first London based ‘Parklife’ scheme which provides a mix of sports and community facilities in a parkland setting. We are delighted with the outcome, as the project reaches completion, and the enhancement it provides to the local area.”

Brand new sports facilities, including artificial football pitches are coming to Gunnersbury Park as part of a large-scale restoration of the historic buildings and grounds.