DEVIZES town clerk Simon Fisher has confirmed that despite wet and windy weather the £1.7 million project to create a football centre in the town is keeping to schedule.

The roof is now on the changing room and office building that will become home to the Wiltshire FA and floodlight are in place on the large artificial pitch.

The whole site at Green Lane is expected to open in April and will become the base for both Devizes Town Youth FC and Bishops Cannings Youth FC.

Mr Fisher said: “Everything is going very well. Wet weather did mean that we became a few days behind schedule but the contractors worked hard to get back on track.

“You can really start to see everything taking shape. I was a bit surprised how big the 3G area looks as it is a full size pitch but it will be possible to section it off for training and five-a-side games.”

Wiltshire FA will lease offices from the town council and be in charge of bookings.

Funding for the project has come from Wiltshire FA, The FA, Devizes Town Council and the Football Foundation.

Mark Young, football development manager at Wiltshire FA said “Sustainable football facilities are fundamental to the support and development of the nation’s game.

“The new facility in Devizes is centrally located in the county and will offer more opportunities for players all year round. It is obviously great for existing participants, but we really hope the new facility will inspire more people to get involved in the game - perhaps those who have recently lost interest and some that have never engaged with the game before.”

Mikey Harford, of Bishops Canning Youth said: “We are really excited about the creation of these state of the art facilities, it’s going to be an iconic facility for Devizes.”

Nathan Sheridan from Devizes Town Youth said: “This is going to be fantastic facility.”