EFL club’s former stadium now housing estate with tiny strip of grass remaining from where old centre-circle once stood
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A FOOTBALL stadium site that once played host to one of the EFL's longest-reigning clubs is now a housing estate. But council developers ensured to keep a small strip of grass where the centre-circle once stood to remember the old ground by. From the highs of promotions to the agony of relegation, the ground witnessed plenty of ups and downs.
![[A current EFL club was forced to leave their home in 2008]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2EGD2J8jpg-JS799772390.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Built in 1907, Layer Road stood for 101 years before it was closed in 2008 and pulled down in 2012. In its pomp it was even able to house 19,000 passionate supporters. But capacity had dropped to just 6,320 by the time of its July 2008 closure for safety reasons, following closure of parts of the ground.
![[The stadium was called Layer Road]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/layer_road__xjpg-JS955979778.jpg?strip=all&w=598)
It was current League Two strugglers Colchester United's home for 71 years. In it's early days, the ground was first used by the British Army and Colchester Town, an amateur side until 1937. But Colchester United moved in two years before the Second World War began.
![[The site is now occupied by a council housing estate, with a strip of grass left roughly where the old centre circle was once found]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/colchester-united-layer-road-955979650.jpg?strip=all&w=631)
In 1948, 19,072 fans packed into a record capacity at Layer Road for an FA Cup tie against Reading, with the match later abandoned due to fog. FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS. The following decades saw Colchester United float between Division Three and Four, with club debt mounting.
![[The grass in the middle of the estate contains a fitting tribute to an EFL club's former home]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/msemail_Screenshot_2024-12-17_085008jpg-JS958074225.jpg?strip=all&w=706)
As early as 1981, the club's chairman Maurice Cadman announced that Layer Road was in need of £280,000 of basic safety improvements to meet legislation. With the club struggling financially, sections of the ground were closed off, reducing the capacity to 4,500.
![[Colchester fans made their way to the last ever match at Layer Road in 2008]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PA-5922831jpg-JS955979672.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
