ROBINS NEEDED TO FLY THE NEST

CHAIRMAN Kayne Steinborn-Busse insists Brack- nell Town will remain at the heartbeat of the community despite moving out of town and launching a long-term groundshare with Step 6 neighbours Sandhurst Town.

The Robins have announced they are to leave their newly-renovated Larges Lane base for good in the summer, while the innovative SB Multi-Sport Academy is built in its place.

The £3 million educational and footballing facility will include a brand new pavilion and classroom areas, plus “multiple high grade fully irrigated grass pitches” to allow the Isthmian South Central

South club to concentrate on their “development and education plans”.

They do not, however, include the hosting of first-team matches and with Larges Lane unable to extend its ‘D’ grading to play any higher than its current Step 4 standard, the Robins have actively been looking elsewhere for a new home.

Stepping stone

This week, the club announced it is to relocate seven miles down the road and move in with Combined Counties Division One neighbours Sandhurst.

To show their commitment, they will invest £2 million towards the facilities at Bottom Meadow, including a state-of-theart 3G pitch.

While the plan is for the club to remain in Sandhurst for the foreseeable future, Bottom Meadow is being described as a “stepping-stone site” with bigger, long-terms plans set to be unveiled in the summer.

Steinborn-Busse told The NLP: “Even before I came here, it became apparent to us that the current site was at the end of its shelf life and that we couldn’t remain here.

“We had to beg them almost to give us a Step 4 grading so we had to come up with a robust business model to help push the club forward.

“Sandhurst is a stepping stone for us. Ultimately, Bracknell is still our home and always will be. It is still our base and the long-term aim is to bring the first team back to Bracknell too. That is part of the masterplan.”

Memories

The Robins are not due to move in to their new home until June but work has already began at Bottom Meadow with the clubhouse fully refitted and car park extended. An additional classroom, running in tandem with the main academy, will also be built there.

The Robins have only played only five of their 38 fixtures this season and with football at Steps 3-6 likely to terminate soonest, it means the Robins have almost certainly played their final match at Larges Lane.

“We are preparing for the worst and I think the reality is that we will be back for the 202122 season,” said Steinborn-Busse, whose wife Sophie and son Louie sit on Sandhurst’s board.

“We are very excited with the plans. There is a lot of scope at Bottom Meadow. It’s on an eightacre site with no real restrictions in which to build. With the £2m investment we can make it the best ground in the borough.

“It’s an arrangement that ultimately benefits both communities.”