Sefton approved a 25-year lease of Sandbrook Road Playing Fields to Hightown Junior Football League, opening a bid for up to £250,000 for new changing rooms.

Sefton Council has agreed to lease Sandbrook Road Playing Fields in Ainsdale to Hightown Junior Football League for 25 years. The deal is the key that unlocks up to £250,000 from the Football Foundation to replace the site’s derelict changing rooms.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills approved the lease on Tuesday 6 October. (Sefton Council, decision record, 6 October 2026)

The report behind the decision is blunt about the state of the site. The changing rooms “are currently derelict”. The fields were once “substantially used by a large number of junior teams” but are “currently out of use for football”. (Sefton Council, Cabinet Member report, Sandbrook Road Playing Fields lease)

Why the lease comes first

The money comes from the Football Foundation’s Home Advantage programme, which is backed by the Premier League, the FA and the Government. It only pays out when a league or club takes on the running of a site under a long lease. That is why the council is handing the fields over rather than doing the work itself.

Hightown Junior Football League, which the council describes as the area’s main provider of junior football, was accepted onto the programme in July 2025. (Sefton Council, 30 October 2025)

The £250,000 is not yet awarded. The report says the league must have the lease terms agreed by 31 October so it can apply in the programme’s funding window of 30 November 2026. The grant would cover the whole cost of the works, with nothing from the council.

What the league is expected to do

The report lists what the league is “most likely” to provide, though some elements are still to be finalised:

  • demolish the old changing rooms and build a new purpose-built facility
  • new toilets and on-site catering, which the report calls a priority
  • a better standard of pitch maintenance than the council’s own programme
  • boundary security to keep out unauthorised access
  • take over pitch bookings and keep the hire income to fund the site

The council’s earlier announcement also mentioned fencing, goalposts, storage units, grounds maintenance machinery and catering cabins as things the league could apply for.

Any works must be done within the first 12 months of the lease, once the council has approved the plans.

The terms
Length 25 years from completion
Rent A peppercorn, with no reviews
Use Football league activities, with community and fundraising use alongside
Public access The fields stay open to the public and community
Upkeep The league pays rates, insures the site and maintains the boundaries

The council keeps responsibility for the trees and bushes on the boundary.

What the council gives up

The report is open about the cost. The council expects to lose about £10,000 to £12,000 a year in pitch hire income, though it also sheds the grounds maintenance bill. It will also have fewer pitches to move teams around under its “pay and play” bookings.

Leasing the fields counts as a disposal of public open space, so the council had to advertise it. Notices ran in the Metro on 27 May and 3 June 2026, and no objections were received. Ainsdale ward councillor Thompson supports the proposal, the report says.

If the funding window were missed, the report warns, the council would have to fix the site at its own cost “to remedy health implications of the area”. It says that “there is a large number of children with no access to toilets or welfare facilities” there at present.

What it means for you

If you live near the fields, they will stay open to walk on. Junior football should return in larger numbers once new facilities are built, which may mean more weekend traffic and parking on Sandbrook Road.

If your child plays junior football in the Southport area, this is a site to watch. Bookings will run through the league rather than the council.

The decision can be called in by councillors until Wednesday 14 October. If it is not, it takes effect on 15 October. We will report whether the league’s funding bid succeeds.

For other changes near you, see our Southport planning news page.

Sources