STATE-of-the-art sports facilities across Petersfield will not fit the bill for the town's hockey club, it has been claimed. Churcher's College unveiled its artificial pitch in autumn 2006, while The Petersfield School wants to build a new third-generation pitch on its grounds as part of a land-swap deal with supermarket giant Tesco. But according to Petersfield Hockey Club captain Nicky Gardner, neither facility will be able to cater for community hockey in the long term. In a letter sent to the two schools, Petersfield Town Council and East Hampshire District Council, Miss Gardner said: "To date we have not played a single match on the Churcher's pitch. "This is due to there being no available slots other than late afternoon on Saturday, and the charges levied far outweigh those of Bohunt and Bedales." At present, there are are also restrictions on using floodlights at the school pitch, meaning the club cannot play in the evenings. At the same time, the club has "grave concerns" over the proposed plans for The Petersfield School's all-weather facility as the surface would not meet its needs. "This type of pitch has a long, hard nylon-type carpet and it will not be suitable for hockey, especially league matches," she said. "This seems somewhat restrictive, as an artificial surface suitable for league hockey would also accommodate football, tennis and netball, but not vice versa." The club currently has six senior sides – three men's and three ladies' teams – a thriving junior section, a colts side, and a developing under-16s girls' side. And club representatives believe any land- swap deal by Tesco and TPS should take into account the popularity of their sport. Miss Gardner added: "With hope and ambitions raised and dashed time and time again, subsequently watching Alton, Liphook, Haslemere and Bordon all have community facilities, we feel that Petersfield town's time has come and this opportunity should not be squandered."
