Trudy Harrison MP gave Keswick Rugby Football Club a big thumbs up for its £1.9m clubhouse renovation project during a visit to Davidson Park last Friday.
Ms Harrison met the team behind the clubhouse rebuild project and cast a keen eye over the plans.
She expressed how impressed and excited she was about the plans and complimented the team on its fundraising to date, as well as its on-going commitment and engagement with the wider community in Keswick.
The Copeland MP also congratulated the team for its recent full planning application approval granted by the LDNPA on January 31 and she added that this made the project even more impressive and attainable.
Keswick RFC president Tim Green arranged the visit after Ms Harrison, a keen rugby union supporter, agreed to provide the rugby club a glowing letter of support for one of its major grant applications for £300,000.
The visit included a detailed explanation of the new plans and fundraising to date followed by a guided tour of the existing clubhouse and changing room facilities by Women’s Captain Leanne Grave and Kate Stanton showing Ms Harrison that the facilities are not longer fit for purpose.
The team explained that the main purpose of the clubhouse rebuild project is to overcome the two key issues the club is now facing. Firstly, the on-going risk of flooding of the clubhouse, and secondly, the facilities not being fit for purpose for the number and diversity of players.
Since construction in the 1950s, the clubhouse has been flooded many times, but in recent years things have moved onto a different level with bigger, more frequent floods occurring in 1985, 2005, 2009 and 2015. After the 2015 flood an insurance pay-out was received but since then flood insurance has no longer been available.
The existing clubhouse venue, built in 1958, was designed to accommodate a single team of senior men; now there are 18 different teams catering for a range of ages and genders. So, despite some clubhouse alterations, the players have simply outgrown the dated building.
To find out more about making a donation to the Big Build Project, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/p3r4e-krufc-the-big-build
