By Paul Hayes, St Austell RFC chairman
THE project to deliver additional changing facilities to meet the needs of our growing Youth and Women’s and Girls sections at St Austell has taken a significant step towards becoming a reality.
The 2023/2024 season was the Diamond Anniversary of the Saints, marking 60 years since the formation of the club.
To celebrate this significant milestone the club launched Project Diamond with the aim of creating two new bespoke changing rooms and showers specifically designed for women, girls and youth rugby (players under 18 years of age).
A dedicated team have been working hard in the background and the outline plans received strong support at the club’s annual general meeting held on July 24 this year.
We are now delighted to confirm that:
- Cornwall Council’s Building Control have approved the design and the proposed schedule of works.
- The RFU’s Facility Development Team have signed off the design and have allocated St Austell RFC a grant of £50k to deliver the project.
- The Executive Committee can confirm that over the last two years St Austell RFC has been able to raise the required “match funding” through a mixture of fundraising and prudent cost management.
Tenders are about to be issued to potential primary contractors with the aim of appointing a preferred partner before Christmas, ready to start the project early in 2025.
If you know of any reputable local builders who you feel would be able to deliver a quality build that is “fit for the future”, then please pass on this information and ask them to contact myself via email at [email protected] or by calling 07515 881 799.
This exciting project will be the first significant investment in facilities since the club moved to Tregorrick in 1988.
It will provide: Refurbishment of the ground floor; Creation of a third set of home and away changing rooms specifically designed to support Youth and women’s and girls’ rugby; New entrance into the Clubhouse; Enhanced physio and medical rooms; New club office; Additional Office space providing potential rental income to the club; Foundations for a lift to the first floor.
The total project cost is estimated to be in the order of £120,000 for which the club has built a significant ‘war chest’ to meet the match funding criteria for the RFU grant and assist in the initial cash flow.
More work is required to meet the funding needs of Project Diamond, and our aim is to meet the shortfall by raising funds from: Additional grant schemes; Business donations (financial and/or materials); Personal donations and Crowdfunding; Use of in-house labour and skills to deliver the project.
If you know of any local businesses who may be interested in sponsoring any part of the refurbishment or have ideas for events or initiatives to raise funds for Project Diamond, then please contact: Shane Sullivan – commercial lead at the club by email at [email protected] or by calling 07880 785437.
We will also be looking to utilise the considerable skills and expertise that exist within the membership and sponsors at St Austell RFC. We will be looking for volunteers to support the project in 2025 so please look out for opportunities to assist in making this wonderful initiative a reality.
These are exciting times and Project Diamond will help to drive rugby forward at Tregorrick Park.
The Saints’ two men’s teams are back in action on Saturday, November 30 following a week off.
The firsts make the short trip up the A30 for the Cornish derby with Launceston (3pm), while the seconds host Helston in Counties Two Cornwall (2.30pm).