Floodlight delay could shut down club - chairman

The floodlights at Hereford FC's Edgar Street ground are over half a century old

The chairman of Hereford Football Club says delays in installing new floodlights at at its ground could mean "the end" of the club.

Chris Ammonds said the request to have new lights in place had been held up with National Highways, which manages the A49 Edgar Street alongside the ground, due to a "technical approval process".

As a result, he said he was concerned that the club could lose funding for new LED lights, or the current lights could fail, which would mean "the end" of the club.

Victoria Lazenby from National Highways said the company had no objections in principle to the lighting, and was committed to supporting the club with the application.

She added it was “working with the club to ensure we have all of the information necessary to meet safety standards”, but aimed “to resolve these matters as soon as possible".

Mr Ammonds described the club's current floodlights as being on “enormous, old-fashioned” pylons that could fail "at any moment".

The club said it had stressed that it wanted the lights in place for the start of the National League North, on 10 August.

In an email sent to the agency on 16 September, Mr Ammonds warned that should the current lights fail, the club would face “being thrown out of the National League North, which would basically mean the end of the club”.

“This is a serious issue for Hereford FC, which requires a rapid resolution,” Jesse Norman, Hereford MP, said.

He said he had reached out to the agency on behalf of the club.

“I shall be monitoring the floodlights situation closely to make sure it gets sorted, soon," he added.