HIGH-FLYING Chippenham Town Football Club needs fans to support the club in its bid to win £50,000 towards new offices and a classroom at Hardenhuish Park.

The club, top of the Southern League Premier Division, want a a new £160,000 building to replace crumbling portable cabins. It would be used on match day and also for the wider community.

The £50,000 is up for grabs under the Buildbase Club Renovation Programme, which allows clubs who entered the FA Trophy and Vase competitions to vie for a chance of winning building materials to that value.

Club chairman Neil Blackmore said: “At any level money is important to the club, but to us we’re looking to improve some of our facilities.

“Hardenhuish Park is quite an old ground and we have portable cabins which are old and outdated.

“We’ve been repairing them but they’re probably at the end of their life and we’re looking to build something which would give us a multi-purpose facility.

“Part of the building would be used as the match day office and press office and we’re hoping to use the facility as a classroom for our under 18s or for any other meetings.

“We’re trying to build quite a universal building for match days and non-match days.”

Fans can register their support online and the six clubs with the most votes will be invited to pitch their project to a panel of judges from The FA and Buildbase at Wembley before two winners are announced at the FA Trophy and Vase semi-finals on March 11.

The two winning clubs will then attend an award presentation for their building products on finals day on May 21 before renovations start over the summer.

“We’re top of the league, promotion is our aim and this will help us as we go forward,” added Mr Blackmore, who has been chairman of the club for five years and is owner of Thornbury Surfacing in Foxham.

“Whatever happens we’re going to build this facility because we’ve been wanting to do it for as long as I’ve been here.”

The club plan to raise the rest of the money through grants and fundraising. The new building has been designed by Nairn Duff Architectural Draughting Services.

The club could start a crowdfunding appeal, bid for funding from Foundation Football, Wiltshire and Chippenham town councils, and sponsored events.

Bluebirds fans can register to support the club at http://www.buildbase.co.uk/pitch-in-your-support.