OFFICIALS of a sports club have launched an appeal to replace their Astroturf. Gillingham Anchorians need £180,000 for the new surface at their base in Darland Avenue.

The new pitch would replace the present one, which has developed holes, in the middle of next year. The Anchorians use the ground for hockey, rugby and cricket, with Gillingham Football Club among the many groups that hire the pitch for training.

Trevor Shave, a steering committee member, said: "If we are to have much of a future as a hockey club we need to have some council support. It would be incredibly difficult to survive if we do not have the money to pay for new Astroturf.

"We have seen in the Medway Towns a whittling down of clubs and we would hope the council will support us as one of the last remaining ones. If we get the council on board, we can get straight into fund-raising. While we realise the ground is run by us, we hope they will appreciate it is a community asset."

The present Astroturf was laid in 1989 and paid for by the former Gillingham council and Gillingham Anchorians Hockey Club. The club is asking the council to guarantee a bank loan up to a maximum of £90,000, to be repaid over 10 years, and for a cash contribution of £30,000.

This stake would give the council free use of the pitch during off-peak hours, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The original pitch manufacturers indicated a pitch life of 10 to 15 years, so the new surface would coincide with the maximum life-span.

Some £60,000 would come from current reserves and future pitch revenue. Other contributions would include a hockey club loan of £5,000 for the clubhouse, a legacy of £5,000, contributions and private loans of at least £10,000, and fundraising.

The old boys of what was Gillingham Grammar School formed the Anchorians Association in 1926, with the hockey club formed in 1954.

Philippa Hart, the ladies' first team captain, said: "Not having an Astroturf pitch would have massive implications. We have successful men's and women's teams and without the Astroturf we would not be able to train at our ground. We would probably have to hire a pitch somewhere else."