Uckfield Town Council Lays Out 3G Pitch Plans

Uckfield Town Council is delighted to unveil plans to install an all-weather 3G artificial grass pitch on Victoria Pleasure Ground.

Following several months of careful planning and consultation with key stakeholders, the Town Council can confirm that the proposals have now been submitted to the local planning authority, Wealden District Council (WDC).

The next stage of the process sees the local planning authority undertake its statutory three-week consultation, inviting comments from statutory bodies and members of the public. The closing date for comments is Monday 30 November 2026.

The need for an additional 3G sports facility in Uckfield has been identified within Wealden’s Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Assessment and Strategic Action Plan for a number of years. This study is undertaken by external consultants in association with governing sports bodies, and is used as key evidence within the development of the Local Plan.

Changes to weather conditions – drier summers and wetter winter months – have impacted maintenance regimes, and the Town Council has seen increased demand of our grass pitches. These challenges coming at the same time have increased the need for additional hard-wearing facilities.

Across the United Kingdom, there has been a significant increase in artificial pitches in the last decade. In 2014, England had 639 high-quality publicly available artificial pitches, while Sport England’s 2024 database showed there were 3,013 full-size artificial grass pitches and 4,419 small-sided artificial grass pitches.

Wealden District Council recently unveiled its own full-scale 3G pitch at the Wealden Community Sports Hub just north of Hailsham. It has also announced its intention to support 3G pitch applications for sites in Crowborough and Polegate.

Victoria Pleasure Ground is the central hub for sports facilities within Uckfield.

The Town Council will be able to meet biodiversity net gain requirements from the development, adjacent to the site on its own land, and will undertake the necessary monitoring to ensure these requirements continue to be met.

The Town Council will manage the site itself with the help of an online bookings system. Any profits made after management costs – including maintenance, staffing and funding set aside for the future replacement of the astroturf – will be used for the maintenance and upkeep of the Town Council’s sports facilities and open spaces.

As well as the pitch, floodlights will be installed around the pitch as part of the project. Careful planning has gone into which option to use in order to minimise light spill onto existing and new properties, with consideration being given to the development of 100 homes just south of the site, and Seghers Place development to the west.

Altogether, the provision of a 3G pitch and floodlights will enable hirers to use the new facility at any time during the year, seven days a week regardless of weather, and into the evening Monday to Friday until such time as floodlight restrictions come into place.

This would allow for several of the Town Council’s existing hirers, as well as additional charities and organisations, to not only meet existing demand, but further grow.

An initial presentation of Uckfield Town Council’s plans was made during the recent pump track trial at Victoria Pleasure Ground.

This enabled visitors to the site to see exactly how the plans would affect the current land, and also to ask questions to members of the Town Council’s grounds team who work on the site.

Residents can comment on the planning application using WDC’s planning portal here: https://planning.wealden.gov.uk/Planning/Display/WD/2026/2097/F

Documents relevant to the application are also available to view on the planning portal via the link above.

Key Plan Documents are also attached here:

G-234471 01 – Existing Site Plan

G-234471 02 – Site Location Plan

G-234471 03 – Proposed Site Plan

G-234471 04 – Proposed AGP Plan

G-234471 05 – Proposed Elevation

G-234471 06 – Sports Lighting Scheme

G-234471 07 – Proposed AGP Drainage Layout

G-234471 08 – Proposed AGP Drainage Strategy

G-234471 09 – Infill Containment Measures 97x61m