THE redevelopment of Cheshire County Sports Club has been given the seal of approval by Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry, writes Paul Hassall..

The Reds supremo visited the Upton-based facilities on Wednesday to officially present the club with a cheque for £806,255 on behalf of the Football Foundation.

The funding enabled work to be carried out on a modern new clubhouse, which was completed in May, refurbishment of the existing pavilion, and a drainage system.

A date for the grand opening of the new-look club has been set for Sunday, September 3.

'I think it will make a big impact on the area,' said Parry. 'Promoting football in the local community is important.

'At Liverpool, we have used the club as a satellite academy centre for children from North Wales and Chester and so it has a very definite link with Liverpool FC.'

Parry added: 'From a personal point of view, all three of my children have used these facilities from time to time and so it is nice to be here and very pleasing to see it all come to fruition.'

The club is expecting almost 1,000 users at the revamped site and is aiming to create a new girls football league and give local schools access to the renovated pavilion for games lessons and after-school clubs.

These developments within the community will be overseen by newly appointed football development officer, Debbie Kendall, who will work closely with the Cheshire FA and local schools and clubs.

Club director Mark Fearon is predicting an exciting future and is looking forward to showing his appreciation to those who contributed to the redevelopment at the grand opening.

He said: 'The new clubhouse has been a tremendous success since it opened in mid-May and has become very popular with all our users. It's been a long and testing road from the submission of our bid for funds to the completion of building work but it's all been worth it.'

Granada Reports presenter Lucy Meacock was also on hand to help hand over the cheque and was keen to point out the advantages such an investment would bring to Chester.

She said: 'It's fantastic to see such extensive sports facilities in Chester.

'Anyone who lives in the area will know there has been a serious gap in sports facilities for a long time and it is just what we need to help develop the stars of the future - hopefully some Chester City and Liverpool players!'