Colchester United FCFacilities
Colchester United Community Sports Trust is based across two centres, the Shrub End Community and Sports Centre and the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
The Shrub End Community and Sports Centre opened in April 2006. This exciting facility is the result of a joint venture between Colchester Borough Council, Colchester United Community Sports Trust and their partners, the Football Foundation, Sport England, Cory Environmental Trust and the Colchester Crime and Disorder Partnership.
It offers some of the most sophisticated community and sports facilities in the county, including one of only three football pitches in the country made from the most advanced synthetic turf currently on the market and a fully fitted computer suite which will act as a study support centre for schools and community groups. There are also two halls offering meeting space for businesses and local community groups.
The centre is also home to the Shrub End Ormiston Children’s Centre, which provides support programmes and activities to families with children under five.
The Weston Homes Community Stadium, home to Colchester United Football Club, opened in 2008. From playing a game of five-a-side on one of two floodlit synthetic pitches to taking part in an adult education course at the EdUc@eUtd Study Support Centre, the facility offers something for everyone of all ages and areas of the community.
The next phase of the development of the stadium will see the creation of a community café and the Imagine Centre. This will provide a base for Essex County Council’s Schools, Children and Families directorate Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Team, providing ICT support for children and schools throughout Essex.
There are also plans to provide a much-needed 52 place nursery on the site. This will be accompanied by a Wellness Centre kitted out with consulting rooms, community physiotherapy facilities and a lecture theatre which will be used for community health programmes among other activities.
