Planning chiefs have approved a Gwynedd football club’s bid to build a new stand – which now faces a race against time to fund its constuction

Snowdonia National Park planning officers have approved Llanuwchllyn FC’s application for a new 100 seater stand at their Cae Gwalia ground.

CPD Llanuwchllyn, which plays in the Wrexham Area Premier Division, needs to meet stricter ground criteria to retain its position in the third tier of the Welsh football pyramid.

But planning approval is only the first hurdle, with this small football club which is immersed in Welsh culture now needing to raise the necessary capital.

According to the club’s committee, they need to raise £47,000 to fund all of the necessary works to avoid falling afoul of new stricter Football Association of Wales ground criteria.

Iwan Arthur Jones, a member of the club’s committee, said: “We provide income for our village hall by using its facilities, and Llanuwchllyn Agricultural Show and Llanuwchllyn Festival benefit from using the playing field.

“The village nursery also benefits from selling refreshments on match days, which provides them with a small income.

“We are the only Welsh language club in this league and host all our activities bilingually which we believe is very important to promote the Welsh language amongst sport in Wales.”

If the club fails to make the necessary changes to its ground and pitch, Iwan warned that its very future could be in doubt, with fundraising efforts having been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the club’s efforts have already got the backing of one former Wales star with former Norwich City striker Iwan Roberts, whose father, Gwynedd Roberts played for the club in the 1960s, recently tweeted a link to the team’s fundraising page.

This can be found at: www.gofundme.com/f/gwelliannau-clwb-peldroed-llanuwchllyn.

Iwan added: “We need to raise up to £47,000 to re-develop the playing field itself, hard standing paths, a 100-seater stand and some new equipment.

“If we do not carry out these changes, we will not be able maintain our current standing which will result in the closure of our club.

“We have however had a great reaction so far to our GoFundMe page and are very thankful to every contribution.

“A couple of events we had planned over summer have had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including a gig held at the Plas Coch in Bala with local bands, Candelas and Y Cledrau. Hopefully this will be re-arranged in future.

“It is very exciting times for our club, and when football and normality returns, we hope to have raised enough money to have a top quality football facility for the community to enjoy for generations to come.”