Bridgnorth Rugby Club plans clubhouse on stilts to protect from flooding
Bridgnorth Rugby Club is waiting on planning permission approval for a multi-million pound project it hopes will prevent further floods decimating the clubhouse.
In February this year, the All-Blacks’ Edgar Davies base alongside the River Severn was left underwater – causing £65,000 worth of damage to the pitch, buildings and equipment.
The Midlands Premier club has since received grants from both the RFU and Sport England and with help from volunteers working at cost price, it has completed the majority of the work to repair the damage.
Now, one of the club's 120 vice presidents – who pay a £100 annual fee in return for benefits – has offered an interest-free loan, allowing Bridgnorth to submit plans for a new clubhouse on stilts and a community sports venue, totalling £2.3 million.
"Although it's been a really difficult time for us, everyone has pulled together and the pitch now looks amazing," chairman Karen Sawbridge said.
"We've just put in two planning applications to build a new clubhouse and a new multi-sports facility.
"We had the backing of a VP who has offered an interest-free loan to enable us to finance a new clubhouse.
"In the middle of all this mayhem, we've put in two planning permission applications and we think in total the two buildings will cost us £2.3 million to build.
"We're going to build them in stages and build the clubhouse first on Bandon Lane, which is land we own, and it will be up on stilts to protect it from the floods.
"That's a really positive thing because at the moment all our facilities are on the floodplain at ground level, so when it floods it either damages very severely or it ruins whatever equipment we have in there.
"In my time with the club, which is about 25 years, we've only had around three significant floods, so they're not that regular, but two of those three happened in the last 12 months.
"When they do happen and they're bad, they cause a lot of damage. If we can remove the likelihood of that happening by demolishing those buildings and building a new purpose built building on stilts, then that has to be a good thing.
"It will obviously take us a couple years to build it and then money generated in the meantime will help finance the multi-sports facility, which is for the wider community in Bridgnorth.
"Netball, Boxing and other sports that have no home will be welcome."
