A MULTI-use games area (MUGA) in Salisbury could see upgraded facilities if plans are approved.

Wiltshire Council has put together plans that would see the MUGA at Gainsborough Close turned into a ‘PlayZone’ with new fencing, LED floodlights and a spectator area complete with bins and benches.

The new surface will have markings for football, basketball and volleyball, with goals at each end and four basketball hoops along with a “basketball system”.

Agent MUGA UK Sports Pitch Consultants, who submitted the plans on behalf of Wiltshire Council, said the plans would provide new facilities that would encourage a wider range of participants and see more use in the winter months.

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PlayZone facilities, according to the Football Foundation website, are safe, inclusive and accessible outdoor facilities that bring communities together through recreational forms of football and a range of other sports.

The MUGA at Gainsborough Close was chosen for the new PlayZone facility following a consultation, with the UK’s largest sports charity, the Football Foundation, providing funding through their PlayZone programme.

This programme has been developed to tackle inequalities in physical activity and access to high-quality facilities in areas “with the greatest need”.

The proposed layout Picture: McArdle

The current MUGA is open until 9pm and there are no plans to extend these opening hours.

MUGA UK Sports Pitch Consultants say in the plans that the proposals would provide an opportunity to arrange specialist coaching sessions when daylight is limited, which would further improve skills and performance standards of users.

They added: “The proposal would be of considerable benefit to the local community groups through the provision of a new facility in a previously unused area.”

To view and comment on the proposals, search PL/2025/02913 on the planning section of Wiltshire Council’s website.