A new MUGA for a Cambridgeshire community

ETC Sports Surfaces completes new asphalt MUGA for the community of Great Gransden

Nestled in the Huntingdonshire District of Cambridgeshire is the village of Great Gransden – and it’s a village with an ambitious vision of the future. Gransden 2020 Vision – the village’s forward -looking development plan – helps local people to ensure that they get the right types of development and infrastructure for their community. Great Gransden Parish Council is an active supporter of the plan and, as part of that commitment, has recently breathed new life into a disused tennis court with the installation of a new porous asphalt MUGA, designed to serve the community with free access to sports including football, basketball, netball and tennis.

The site designated for this multi use games area is located within a residential Conservation Area featuring a number of Grade II listed buildings. So, it was vital that the chosen contractors were equipped to accommodate multiple planning stipulations and residential input. Thirty years’ experience of installing MUGAs in all manner of space-strapped and sensitive locations ideally qualifies ETC Sports Surfaces to carry out this type of project to the highest standard – so we were delighted to win the tender to design and install this new asphalt MUGA pitch plus all associated fencing and equipment.

Why choose porous asphalt for a multi use games area?

Offering a great combination of sporting performance, excellent drainage and easy maintenance, asphalt tennis courts and MUGAs are hugely popular sports surfaces throughout the UK. Given that this project was largely funded by charitable donations and was intended to provide a free community facility, balancing cost, durability and safety were paramount considerations in the design of this MUGA surface.

We therefore recommended VIACOURT®, a flexible asphalt surface manufactured by CEMEX. Fully compliant with SAPCA guidelines, this MUGA surface delivers consistently high-quality performance and provides a smooth, even and low textured surface to reduce any risk of injury. The addition of Duo8 double wire panel fencing by Zaun provided a suitably robust and secure perimeter solution to safeguard this precious new community resource. The MUGA was then finished with attractive multi coloured markings, denoting five games that can be played on the same surface to cater for the varied sporting tastes of residents, clubs and community groups.

Delivering a community MUGA pitch on time and on budget

Our team at ETC Sports Surfaces is committed to completing every contract within agreed deadlines and budgetary parameters. This was an especially important consideration for this project, with multiple external donors expecting accountable delivery and a community keen to see their new MUGA come to fruition. In fact, in a survey about the proposed plans, more than 96% of residents told Great Gransden Parish Council that they were highly in favour of the development. That’s a lot of people keen to get on court to play their favourite sports, so completing the contract within a short time scale was a vital consideration!

We began works on the 8^th May 2019 and completed on the 25^th June 2019, meeting all expectations according to Diane Taylor, Clerk to the Parish Council. “ETC Sports Surfaces were the council’s preferred contractor, due to the price and specification they were able to propose,” Diane said recently. “The site for our new MUGA surface was inspected thoroughly both before and after the tender process. ETC Sports Surfaces stuck to the agreed schedule, delivering all work on time and dealing with any queries promptly.”

The completed multi use games area was officially opened to the residents of Great Gransden on the 29^th June 2019, and we’re delighted to hear that the whole community is already embracing the chance to play their favourite sports and games. “Since the MUGA was opened, the facility has been enormously well used by children and youths for football and basketball,” Diane confirms. “Groups including the Out of School Club and the Brownies have also used the pitch regularly, and a newly formed women’s netball team is practising weekly. The facility is available for the community, free of charge, and the aim is to maintain the facility for the benefit of the community for many years to come.”

We’re thrilled to have been involved in this worthwhile community project, and we wish all the residents of Great Gransden many years of enjoyment using their new multi use games area!

Are you considering installing a space-saving MUGA surface?

Find out about the many benefits of multi use games areas

Plan ahead: understand what’s involved in asphalt MUGA maintenance

Arrange a free, expert consultation and site survey: contact ETC Sports Surfaces

Connect to our project partners: @CEMEX_UK | @zaunlimited | @SAPCA

More from the client

Review taken from Google Reviews

Great Gransden Parish Council recently had its old tennis court upgraded to a multi-use games area. ETC were the council’s preferred bidder based on price and the specification. Communication was good, inspecting the site both before and after the tender process. The schedule of work was kept to by the contractors, the guys on site dealt with any queries and questions promptly and the work was completed on time.