Major funding boost for new Greatness Football and Community Pavilion

Published: 17 June 2025

The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation has approved a grant for £759,100 to support Sevenoaks Town Football Club and Sevenoaks Town Council’s exciting plans for a new Football and Community Pavilion at Greatness Recreation Ground.

Sevenoaks Town Football Club and Sevenoaks Town Council were delighted to hear that the Football Foundation had recognised the importance of the new pavilion for the Sevenoaks football community, and as such had offered even more funding than originally requested.

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said, “The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA and Government – to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country. Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities. This grant award towards developing a new pavilion at Greatness Recreation Ground is fantastic news for the local community in Sevenoaks and will help give more people access to a great place to play.”

Speaking about the funding, Sevenoaks Town Football Club Chairman, Paul Lansdale, said, “Years of hard work has paid off with the news of this funding for the building of our long-awaited clubhouse. The Football Foundation has agreed to provide a significantly larger figure than we expected. It is very exciting news and means we can now focus on a start date to begin the work before the end of the year.”

This Football Foundation funding is in addition to the £787,500 of funding provided by Sevenoaks District Council's Community Infrastructure Levy and £87,500 match funding from Sevenoaks Town Council.

Sevenoaks Town Football Club and Sevenoaks Town Council has also received excellent news that their application for £150,000 of funding from the Premier League Stadium Fund has been successful. This brings the total funding to an impressive £1,784,100.

Securing these grants is a key milestone for Sevenoaks Town Football Club and Sevenoaks Town Council’s plans to redevelop Greatness Recreation Ground. The project aims to bring economic, social, and environmental benefits to the local community, particularly underrepresented groups.

Mayor of Sevenoaks Cllr Tony Clayton commented, “I’d like to pay tribute to all the work by Town Council officers and Sevenoaks Town Football Club volunteers who have made this a successful partnership. This will be a new asset for the town – accompanied by other improvements to the Rec – and a real gain for sports people of all ages. We recognise local concerns about increased traffic, and I look forward to being able to access the new Pavilion safely by bike.”

The new Greatness Recreation Ground Football and Community Pavilion will be built close to the 3G pitch. This will mean the current brick pavilion next to the grass pitches will be released for future community use.

    

Plans of the new pavilion. Image credit: Offset Architects

The new pavilion will include new changing rooms, kitchen and refreshment areas and other facilities. The project also seeks to be environmentally friendly through the design, which will incorporate a green roof and living wall.

Sevenoaks Town Council own the land and buildings in this area and lease them to Sevenoaks Town Football Club, who manage the facilities, for a peppercorn rent.

Jeff Davis, Head of Football Development at Kent FA, who has supported on this project said, “Kent FA would like to congratulate Sevenoaks Town FC on the award. The club are at the heart of their community, offering football opportunities for all. The determination, resilience and hard work shown by all at the club have been rewarded, and Sevenoaks is a shining light of good practice in Kent Football”.