THE battle to replace Kirkby Stephen's ageing sports pitch has been boosted after MP Rory Stewart backed the campaign.

And as the MP for Penrith and the Border offered his support to the project, leaders of the town's Community Sports Association Pitch Replacement Group stressed that the success of their campaign was vital if one of the town's most well used facilities was to be saved.

"Some of our most successful local sports clubs would cease to exist should we lose the pitch and the implications physically, mentally and socially to the people of our rural area would be huge," said Pitch Replacement Group secretary Claire Smithson.

Mrs Smithson said there had been widespread support for their efforts and added that if a bid for finance from Eden District Council proved successful, their funding target may be achieved early in the New Year.

The pitch, which is situated at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School but is operated by the Community Sports Association, has proved extremely popular since it was first laid and is currently being used regularly by more than 15 local groups.

Kirkby Stephen Ladies' Hockey Club, whose first team play in the North Premier League, use the pitch as do Sunderland Football Club who hold regular holiday training sessions.

However, it is now more than 22 years old, which is more than 10 years past its life expectancy, and it has now deteriorated to such a state that it is close to becoming unfit for use.

"The facility has been self financing and extremely well used by the community and school over this time and has also been well maintained which has meant it has exceeded its life expectancy by over 10 years," said Mrs Smithson.

"To lose the pitch would have massive implications not only to our 800+ customer base, the wider Upper Eden Community and its businesses but also the whole of Eden and further afield."

The Pitch Replacement Group was formed with the aim of raising sufficient funds to replace the worn out surface carpet and shock pad layer of the pitch and also to upgrade the lighting at the facility to a cheaper and more efficient LED alternative.

The group set a funding target of £312,000 and have now raised almost two-thirds of that figure.

Mrs Smithson and group chair Andrea Dixon wrote to Mr Stewart requesting a meeting, and after the MP agreed, they were able to brief him on why the facility was so vital to the people of Kirkby Stephen and provide details of their plan to revamp the sports pitch.

“Projects like this show how strongly community focused local people are," said Mr Stewart.

"This facility supports not only the population of Kirkby Stephen, but many outlying towns and villages.

"It ensures that everyone has the opportunity to become involved in sporting activities and, as a result, meet new people and socialise more widely.

"I am delighted to support this project and look forward to seeing the new pitch in due course.”

Mrs Smithson said the next stage of the campaign was an application to the Eden District Council Signature Fund, and added that Kirkby Stephen Grammar School had also promised a donation should the proposed sale of some school land be completed.

A decision on the Signature Fund application is due in late January, and if the result is favourable, sufficient funds should then be available for the project to proceed, with the work expected to be carried out in the summer of 2019.