Rugby Club awarded £150,000 for a new artificial pitch
HINCKLEY Rugby Club has been awarded a grant of £150,000 from the government’s Community Ownership Fund.
The cash will go towards the club’s 3G pitch renovation project after the previous pitch had reached the end of its lifespan and needed to be replaced.
The artificial pitch is essential to the club’s community programme to support young, disabled, elderly and disadvantaged users participate in sports in a safe and accessible environment.
The funding was secured with the help of the MP for Bosworth, Dr Luke Evans, who wrote to Levelling
Up minister Jacob Young in November in support of the club’s application.
Highlights of Hinckley Rugby Club’s community programme include the Let’s Get Moving initiative for older people and those with long-term health conditions; a free summer camp for children and Hinckley Hares walking rugby, a modified form of the game for the less mobile.
Hinckley RFC chairman John Tilley, said: “This is really brilliant news. The £150,000 from the Community Ownership Fund will be a huge investment in our community which means we can guarantee football on a pitch for the next 20 years… at least!
“I welcome any long-term investment in local sports facilities and this Fund enables Hinckley RFC to continue our journey of supporting community sport while putting the club in a strong position for years to come.”
Award of the cash follows a recent announcement by the MP that grassroots sports facilities in Hinckley and Bosworth, including football and tennis clubs, have received £1,093,036 from the government’s Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme and Park Tennis Court Renovation
Programme since 2021. Dr Evans said: “That Hinckley RFC has secured £150,000 for a new 3G pitch is great news for our community!
“The pitch can be used by football and rugby players of all generations, no matter the weather.
“Our area has so much sporting potential and this investment is another step towards achieving that.
“I’m pleased to see much-needed facilities for our local sports teams, and that the Government is committed to investing in community provisions like these and promoting the importance of being active.”