A response to the survey from the Chairman

Dear Members,

The club recently undertook a survey to get a clearer indication on your views on what we were doing well and what you feel the club should focus upon to improve things. Firstly, thank you to all who took the time to complete the survey. With over 100 people taking part, we have a lot of data to get through. We have already started to identify key themes from the survey. I would like to take the opportunity at this time to give you some feedback in the areas of match day experience, social media/webpage and some general points.

The match day experience is something we have been working hard on over the past season, with improved facilities, pre-match catering and M&J involvement. The survey highlighted that you felt we were getting these things right. However, key issues have been highlighted that we now have plans on addressing in the areas of the match day programme, car parking, toilets and down stairs catering. Our plans will see our match day programme being less generic than previous years. It will have up to date news stories from around the club, player profiles, previous game match reports, team sheets and other improvements. Please note that if you have content/news stories you would like to see published in the programme let us know.

Issues around car parking have also been highlighted. We obviously have a limited amount of parking at Heywood, but we have a plan in place that will see us maximising all the space we have available on match days. We are also cleaning up the carparks and repairing it where required. We are also looking into resurfacing the car parks, however, this will be dependent upon cost. It was also suggested that we need to improve toilet facilities. The club are currently carrying out a feasibility study regarding re-opening the toilets under the Richard Tricky stand on match days. This will help increase capacity and ease the burden on the toilets in the main clubhouse.

Down stairs catering is also being addressed and with changes to the kitchen area we confident we will be able to offer more choice both pre and post-match in the Steve Smith Bar. Finally, regarding match day experience, we will continue to keep the M&Js at the heart of our plans and the team are looking to create a space downstairs (beside the small bar) that will be turned into a games area for kids (on match days). Through funds raised by the M&Js it will be fitted out with games consoles and such like. This should be a cracking area for the kids to hang out together.

The survey found that for those that use it, our social media coverage was excellent. Recent improvements to our web page have been seen as positive to those who use it, however, it was highlighted that some aspects still need improvement and where appropriate these are being addressed daily in order to get the best web page we can for those visit it.

We would also like to thank members that have volunteered to help around the club and on match days this coming season. We will be in contact with you all in due course to invite you to Heywood Road pre-season to a meeting. Please also note that there will be a new club office opening in the Richard Tricky Stand. This will be a focal point for the club, offering a more professional reception area for those that are visiting the club either during the week or on match days. We will continue to go through the survey responses and keep you updated in due course.

Best Wishes

 

Steve Smith

Club Chairman