Sports clubs face up to crippling costs of flooding
Sport: Hurley and Wraysbury Cricket Clubs appeal for support after grounds are submerged by water
Sports clubs close to the River Thames are facing up to potentially crippling recovery costs this winter after their grounds were devastated by flood water this week.
Hurley Cricket Club and Wraysbury Cricket Club have both seen their grounds and clubhouses submerged by water from the Thames, with water coming up through the ground in some areas due to the high-water table after weeks of poor weather. In short, efforts to protect the clubs proved in vain.
The rainfall that accompanied ‘Storm Henk’ last week was the straw which broke the camels’ back for many properties, with the flood waters rising close to the levels seen back in 2014.
The speed of the flooding caught Hurley Cricket Club by surprise this weekend. Mike Walton, from the club, could see no visible flood water on the pitch or around the clubhouse on Saturday but was unable to reach the ground by Sunday morning, when he’d hoped to move some of the club’s equipment out of harm’s way.
He estimates the cost of recovery could run to more than £30,000 – like it did in 2014 – and this time they are not covered for flood damage. He has put out a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise some money towards the cost of replacing equipment and replacing furniture, while he hopes the England Cricket Board (ECB) will also be supportive to their cause.
“There’s still water inside the clubhouse, but we can’t really assess the damage right now,” said
Mike. “I’m hopeful it’s not quite as bad as last time (2014), but there’s a long way to go.
“It cost more than £30,000 last time, and now we can’t get flood insurance. A few years ago our insurers said they wouldn’t cover us for flood damage so we’ll have to bear this ourselves. We’re hopeful of getting some help from the ECB and maybe the council, but yeah. The damage will be to carpets, furniture, so we’ll have to redecorate. I don’t yet know the damage to our ground equipment, stuff like the rollers and mowers. We may be able to clean them up and lubricate them or it might be a case of throwing them away and getting new ones.
“The pitch is underwater. Eventually it will drain away, and the groundsman will do what he has to do. Last time, we did manage to get back playing on the square a week or two late for the start of the season. It will depend on how it dries out.”
He added: “I’m not an expert and it’s easy to turn around and blame people, but the speed that this happened. From nothing on Saturday to feet deep on Sunday does seem a bit extreme to me. The flood in 2014 was the first time that had happened in my living memory, and I’ve been playing here for 50 years. We didn’t expect to have another one in 10 years’ time.”
It’s a similar situation at Wraysbury Cricket Club which also finds itself underwater at present. Captain Andy Prasad said the situation was ‘very painful’, given the club had recently spent funds on new multi-facet cricket nets for the club’s juniors which are now very likely damaged. He believes the cost for replacing equipment and getting the wicket ready for cricket this summer could run to £20,000. They also no longer have flood insurance after the events of 2014, so are reliant on donations from the public and any support they can get from the cricketing authorities.
“It’s pretty bad,” Andy explained. “We put up our flood defences the day before we were expecting it to flood, but the water just came right through. All the equipment, the mowers, the cutters, it’s all under water right now. And in the clubhouse, the electrical connections, the toilet, nothing is working.
“You can’t even see the cricket pitch right now. Unfortunately, the insurance we have doesn’t cover flooding, and it could easily be £20,000 with all the damage to the equipment.
“The plan is to reach out to the ECB and donors in the village to see if they can help us. Until the water recedes, we won’t be able to assess the damage to the pitch. In 2014, we lost all our equipment and we had to hire equipment on a rental basis until we raised funds to buy more.
“It’s very painful right now considering we also just built new multi-facet nets for the kids. That’s underwater. So, all the funds we had were used for that and there’s no bank balance right now. We start again from zero.”
Further down the river in Maidenhead, Holyport FC appear to have had a reasonably lucky escape in comparison with the cricket clubs, however, club secretary Richard Harvey says the first team pitch is badly damaged as its currently under water and he doesn’t know when the club will be able to stage home matches again. Based on the last big flood at Summerleaze Park – which is on the floodplain – back in 2014, he thinks it could be a month before the senior men’s and juniors’ teams are able to play at the ground again.