THE Cornwall Football Association has started to draw up plans for a new home with full facilities but has discounted using the Stadium for Cornwall as it is “not in the right place”.

Cornwall FA chief executive Dawn Aberdeen said the organisation was commissioning a feasibility study for a new flagship headquarters with facilities.

The Cornwall FA is currently based in offices in Bodmin, but Dawn said there were now ambitions to create a purpose-built HQ which would have conference facilities, a 3G pitch, seating and changing facilities.

But when asked whether they would be looking into getting involved with the planned Stadium for Cornwall the chief exec said the priority was for the Cornwall FA to have its own home.

The Stadium for Cornwall is planned to be built on a site near Threemilestone outside Truro and will provide a home for the Cornish Pirates, Truro City and Truro and Penwith College.

Dawn said: “It is our priority to have a stand-alone facility. We are not looking at the Stadium for Cornwall – it is not in the right place for our football community and football family.

“A lot of the feedback we have had is that the Stadium for Cornwall has no relevance to people in places like Launceston, Polperro or anywhere else.”

She added: “We want to have a standalone facility and then we can look at what we can bolt on in future, rather than be restricted for size.

“What we would like is to have a facility in the centre of Cornwall.”

Dawn said the Cornwall FA had been given the backing of the FA and Football Foundation to start work on the project.

She explained that the Cornwall FA wanted to have its own facilities that could be used for training and delivering educational programmes.

At present, because the organisation does not have its own facilities, it is reliant on using those at local schools or other clubs.

“We would like to run our own educational courses and competitions,” she said. “If we had the flexibility that you get with having your own facilities we could do so much more.

“It is very difficult to share facilities with a school or other clubs and we want to make sure it is in the right place in Cornwall so that it is easily accessible for everyone.”

Dawn said the Cornwall FA was only one of a few associations in the country which does not have its own facilities and it is hoped that if the project takes off it could improve opportunities for young people in football.

She added: “We are incredibly ambitious about it and we hope that we can have a really good facility in future.

“We are just starting the feasibility study and we have full support from the FA and Football Foundation.”