Official incident reports were lodged against the Lithgow District Football Association when a soccer player slid underneath the broken fence on Marjorie Jackson field and cut his lower leg through his sock and needed medical attention.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The hole in the fence has been there for some time, but will now be fixed according to Lithgow City Council Executive manager of operations, Jonathon Edgecombe.
"We have also had numerous first aid injuries...plus the cost of replacing equipment such as balls and playing shirts is becoming costly," LDFA president Jeff Kemp said.
Mr Kemp said in the four years he had been president, he had brought this particular issue to council on numerous occasions.
"The LDFA and Lithgow Workmen's Football Club had offered to repair the fence," he said.
Mr Edgecombe said there was money in the 2019/20 budget for fencing at Marjorie Jackson oval.
"This process has commenced, we are in receipt of one quote and we are getting another as per our purchasing procedures," he said.
"That work is scheduled to commence in March, citing contractor availability and we are pushing that to be done as soon as possible noting the safety concerns."
Mr Kemp mentioned that when his team offered to fix the fence they were told they weren't allowed to fix something on council land.
Mr Edgecombe clarified the apparent confusion.
"Regarding volunteers being allowed to work on council playing fields, we don't disallow that, we just require volunteers to attend a volunteer induction, which doesn't take long and isn't impossible," he said.
"But for future we encourage the LDFA to contact the council administration with any issues they have, our council staff are easy to approach and could have provided this information over a phone call."
READ MORE: Lithgow's Future champs MMA medal haul
Lithgow Workmen's Football Association player Martin Hunter said that he was backing the LDFA fully and that his club would be willing to assist in any way possible, whether that be through labour or donations.
Mr Hunter is passionate about soccer in the local community and would love to see it grow.
" We would love to idea of playing major competitions and hosting major sporting events in town," he said.
"It would be great for the local area and local businesses. Bringing people from across the state as like 'Iron Fest'.
Mr Hunter pointed out that Lithgow was a great sporting community with a lot of talented athletes in all different sports.
"It's unfortunate the local council hasn't invested in sports infrastructure in previous years," he said.
"I believe if we had a great complex of sporting fields in the one area we wouldn't be bypassed for hosting professional sports as we are being now.
"Professional and representative games would rather go to Bathurst or Mudgee just for their infrastructure.
"We have the train line and are even an hour to two hours closer to the city, making the trip viable for the majority of sports fans."