Mousehole Football Club is looking to make strides towards enhancing its facilities and contributing to the community with an ambitious plan to construct a new access road to their Trungle Parc ground, which is situated just outside the village of Paul on the hill above Mousehole Harbour. The plan, first announced in 2021, will be largely financed by a crowdfunding campaign to be launched this autumn.

The new access roadway, for which the club already possesses planning permission, will connect the B3315 near Sheffield directly to the football ground and the campsite it operates. The Club has undertaken preparatory work along the route under the guidance of experts and in compliance with all planning conditions. This includes a thorough assessment of a suitable drainage scheme to ensure there is no increase in water run-off.

The access road will terminate as a cul-de-sac at the Club’s ground, making it impossible for it to become a ‘rat run’ into the village. Instead, the new access road is poised to bring numerous benefits to both the residents of Paul and the football club.

A primary advantage of the new road is that it will divert all the current football and camping traffic away from the village of Paul, alleviating congestion in the lane from the Ring & Thimble junction into the village. The new road access will also make the club’s car park bigger with defined car spaces for another 40 cars, 3 coach spaces and a cycle hub. In this respect, it will eliminate the need for overflow street-side parking in Trungle Parc and Trungle Terrace, addressing concerns about parking issues.

Club Chairman Deryk Heywood remembers the road being discussed when he played for the club in 1978 and has been working on the plan since he became chairman six years ago. The strip of land has been gifted to the club through the generosity of the neighbouring landowner and full planning permission has now been obtained. 

As well as directly benefitting the club, Deryk believes the additional access and parking the new road will bring will provide much-needed extra capacity for village events, as well as providing enhanced facilities at the club for the community to use: 

“The road will help bring the club to another level commercially and keep all the traffic away from the village. We are part of the community along with the cricket club, the pub, the church. We want to improve life for the community by drastically reducing the traffic flow”.

To put the traffic and parking concerns into perspective, home matches for the club’s First Team occur on average once every fortnight for eight months of the year, with the season comprising approximately 20 matches from August to April. The club’s attendances have averaged around 200 over the most recent season. The club’s move to the Southern League means visiting teams and their away supporters are now located much farther away than before. Consequently, the likelihood of individual vehicles increasing is minimal.

In addition to the new road, the club will be exploring better ways of managing its sewage and water supply and are investigating hooking up to the mains supply.

As a non-profit organization, Mousehole Football Club is committed to adhering to all planning rules and regulations and will continue to do so. The Club’s vision is not only to secure its future but also to create opportunities and foster a strong sense of community within the village of Paul.

Considerable expense has already been outlaid by the club to ensure the plans meet all requisite regulations and standards. The club are now exploring crowdfunding opportunities for the project and details will be released later this year.