Improvements galore at Prees sports club during lockdown
The coronavirus lockdown has been an unexpected opportunity for one cricket club to improve their community and sporting centre.
Volunteers at Prees Cricket & Recreation Club have taken the chance to carry out a series of major improvements at the club.
Under the guidance of the club’s hosts, Gary and Jan Dawson, the bar and function rooms have been redesigned and redecorated, and their bars totally refurbished.
The club’s two outdoor terraces have also been updated and painted, and new tables and chairs added.
As well as the work inside the clubhouse, club president Ray Grocott has financed the resurfacing of the extensive car park and also supported the construction and fit-out of a new building to house the club’s maintenance equipment. The tarmac used for the car park is a new environmentally-friendly rubber modified asphalt product that uses old rubber tyres as a key component.
Working closely with Gary and Jan were their daughter Jemma, Phil Hodges, Duncan Austin, and Dave Galluzzo who applied their practical skills to get the club ready for its official reopening when lockdown restrictions were lifted.
“We started out with a plan to just clean the carpets throughout the club, but thanks to the enthusiasm and skills of our volunteer workforce here at the club, this soon snowballed into a full refurbishment project,” said Gary.
“Jan and I are constantly overwhelmed by the support we receive from our committee and club members. They never cease to amaze us. The team literally set to and we used every minute of the lockdown period to make improvements.
"Everything was refurbished at low cost, even down to Jan refurbishing the bar chairs for a few pounds per chair.
“We are of course indebted to Ray Grocott for his continuing financial support. His generosity and his unerring enthusiasm for improving the club are unprecedented.
"We are so fortunate to have such an amazing facility at the heart of our community.”
The club is one of Shropshire’s premier sports and community clubs with a range of sporting facilities set in a stunning rural location. It has a large function room, sports bar and two outdoor terraces.
Membership of the club is open to anyone. For full details see preesrecclub.co.uk. A new website is being launched soon.
