SHAWBURY United will always be “hugely appreciative” to Ludlow for their ground-share arrangement, says chairman Dave Richards as the club moves ever closer to a return home.

The West Midlands Premier Division club are hoping to return to Shawbury for the first time in a quarter of a century in 2021 after securing a suitable site thanks to a local landowner’s generosity.

The club re-sited in Ludlow three years ago after more than two decades at Shropshire neighbours Wem due to a lack of a suitable venue in the village of Shawbury.

Now, however, landowner Gerard Verdino has gifted the club land on a 99-year lease, allowing Shawbury the chance to create a purpose-built sports facility it can call home.

Chairman Richards said: “We have enjoyed playing at Ludlow because they have great facilities and we have always been made welcome.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with them and we are hugely appreciative of what they have done for us.

“But I'd personally like to thank Gerard and his family for their very kind donation of the land.

“It means so much to me personally and everyone at Shawbury United Football Club to have somewhere we finally can call home.”

Shawbury has more than 21 junior and senior sides, who will be united at the new base and while the club requires funding assistance to make that a reality, Richards is confident it will happen.

The junior teams are currently playing at multiple sites across the village but these have become too small to accommodate the expanding club and lack toilet and changing facilities.

Tracie Howells, junior club chair, said: “We are delighted to be offered this amazing opportunity to secure the future of junior football within Shawbury.

“The new facility will allow more children to be able to participate in sport within the village and surrounding areas.”

The club’s committee has begun a fundraising appeal to help finance the venue which is planned to feature five football pitches, a training area and a clubhouse.

“We have junior teams playing in different locations in Shawbury. People sometimes joke we should be called Shawbury Wanderers, not United, because the sides play at six or seven different venues,” said Richards.

“But that’s because the club has grown so much. So I can’t thank Gerard enough for donating the land, enabling us to bring everything together.”

Shawbury – who eased away from the West Midlands Premier relegation battle with a 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Sporting on Saturday thanks to a David Jones hat-trick – hope their new home will be ready for the start of the 2021/22 season.

Richards added: “It won’t just be for the football club – it will be for the whole community.

“It’s a small village and there’s not much there really so it will be a community facility that other organisations can use. It will be Shawbury United’s home but we want the whole village to use it.”