Spearpoint Recreation Ground

Spearpoint Recreation Ground is located in Ashford, Kent, and provides grass football pitches for the local community. Regular fixtures and training place sustained pressure on the playing surfaces throughout the football season.

The greatest wear was concentrated within the goal mouths, where repeated play had caused thinning grass coverage and depressions. The penalty spots and linesmen’s runs also showed signs of deterioration. Across the wider pitch area, which covers approximately 30,000m², unwanted organic matter needed to be removed before new grass could be established successfully.

The pitches were first scarified using a Rytec scarifier to remove unwanted organic matter. A 10-15-10 fertiliser was then applied at a rate of 35g/m² to encourage recovery. The following week, approximately 20 tonnes of TS3 Plus were applied to the worn sections. This specialist clay loam and compost blend was used to fill depressions in the goal mouths and penalty spots, as well as along the linesmen’s runs.

The material was levelled using a grading bar. Each repaired section was then hand seeded and lightly raked to improve contact between the seed and soil. When cooler, damper conditions arrive, the pitches will be overseeded in two directions using Barenbrug E7 grass seed at a rate of 25g/m². The durable perennial ryegrass mixture will help improve grass coverage and increase the resilience of the renovated sections during the football season.