An appeal for assistance

September 2007

Ilkley RFC Development Project

The Project team

The Ilkley Rugby Development Project Committee comprises the following club members:

David Adam, Ken Bernard, Tom Gillon, John Hope, David Jones, Iain McKenzie

Tony Rising, Richard Scargill.  

Responsibilities:

• David Adam: Treasurer and guardian of all funds in a completely separate bank account, Liaison with Revenue re VAT, production of a Business Plan.
• Ken Bernard: Liaison with RFU Funding dept., Section 106 monies, Consultation with local organisations, Dialogue with architect and cost consultants.
• Tom Gillon: Junior Section liaison and Funding Activity Coordinator.
• John Hope: Publicity and Press, maintaining web-site details, general PR.
• David Jones: Specific Fund Raising activities.
• Iain McKenzie: Senior players liaison and Funding Activity Coordinator.
• Tony Rising: Identifying potential Grant Funders and completing grant applications
• Richard Scargill: Fund Raising coordinator.

Project Funding details and proposed activities

• The total project cost estimate is £1.9m.

• Ilkley Rugby Club has set a target to raise £800k by the end of this season.
• In excess of £300k has already been pledged.
• The balance will be secured from the RFU/Sports Foundation and other Funders.
• RFU/Sports Foundation funding can only be granted if the club does its bit and raises the £800k.
• A full colour brochure is being printed.
• A mailing is being prepared for club members to request donations.
• The club can “Gift Aid” by 25% all personal donations from standard and higher rate tax payers.
• Higher rate tax payers can receive a 20% rebate from the Revenue.
• A separate specific mailing will be sent to potential Corporate donors.
• Mailings are scheduled for mid-October.

• The target is achievable if ALL club members support the project.
• A wonderful gesture of support would be a donation of an affordable level from ALL members.
• All donations will be individually recorded and will be kept in a Development Fund bank account. If the project does not ultimately proceed every donor will be consulted as to the fate of their donation and, if appropriate, they will be fully refunded.
• Each section of the club will organise their own fund raising activity.
• Ideas for suitable activities are available from the Project committee.
• There will two or three major events designed to attract “big potential donors”.
• Support for Fund Raising events is expected from all members as and when appropriate.

Project Timetable

• Subject to funding, the start date will be Spring 2009.
• Completion date will be September 2010.
• In event of an unexpected windfall this could be fast-tracked forward by one year.

Press release September 2007

Ilkley Rugby Club get approval for ambitious development plan

Ilkley Rugby Club, one of the leading sports clubs in the Wharfe Valley, has recently received planning permission from Bradford Metropolitan District Council for their ambitious and innovative plans to re-develop the Stacks Field site.

Architect Robin Snell, himself a club member, commented that the contemporary design professionally presented, and the thorough application convinced the Planners and the River Authority that here was a superb opportunity to enhance the appearance of a very special part of the Wharfe Valley as well as providing superb facilities for rugby and for the community through the coming years.

The original buildings comprising clubhouse and grandstand were built by the club in the nineteen twenties but have now reached their “sell-by” date and, in fact, are something of an eyesore. Snell, who has been involved in the design of some of the country’s most prestigious sports facility developments, has produced an eye-catching design for the 21^st century.

It incorporates a futuristic shaped structure with clubroom and social facilities as well as panoramic viewing area with 100 seats on the top floor with changing rooms, showers, toilets, physiotherapy room, mini gym and all the required ancillary facilities on the ground floor. It is constructed in such a way as to avoid risk of flooding when the river is in spate.

The specifications include the latest in environmentally sustainable design. The building seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and energy consumption. It incorporates sustainably sourced timber for its construction, re-uses rainwater collected from the roof and utilises ground source heat pumps to supplement its heating requirements. The materials used for its construction are sympathetic to the area and the design conforms to Sport England and RFU standards of specification.

The finished product will be one of the best facilities in junior level rugby anywhere in the country, totally appropriate for a prestigious town like Ilkley.

Clearly the town and local area will benefit greatly from the new facility. Its changing rooms could be used by other sporting clubs and organisations when not being used by the rugby club. The function room will be designed for dinners, meetings and parties and could accommodate dance groups, pilates and yoga and other similar activities. Imagine an Ilkley Rugby Club salsa or line dancing team! Another major feature will be incorporation of classroom facilities so that the work already done in the community by the club’s Development Officer can be enhanced to give children an opportunity to combine sport with learning on the same site.

The club, totally amateur in that it does not and will not pay players, but totally professional in all it does off the field, is now in its fourth year in the prestigious Yorkshire League Division One. It fields four senior sides and provides coaching and playing facilities for Bradford University through its Development Officer. It has Youth and Junior rugby teams right through the age groups from under 7’s up to under 19’s and as many as 250 boys and girls can be seen on Sunday mornings at the club enjoying playing competitive rugby and receiving coaching delivered by an army of fully qualified coaches. The club has the accolade of year 3 Seal of Approval (accreditation for its governance and delivery of junior rugby), something only a handful of clubs in the country have achieved. They also employ a full time Rugby Development Officer to deliver coaching at Ilkley Grammar School and all the local primary schools.

A club with such heavy and regular use requires facilities to be of the highest standards and, even without wider community based use, the re-development is needed and justified.

The club have a strong management team headed by Chairman Richard Scargill and they feel the time is now right to undertake such a project. If left much longer the next generation at the club will have a major and expensive problem on their hands.

Yes, the plans now passed will be expensive and maybe some will mourn the passing of the existing clubroom, but the club believes it should not deal in half measures.

So ahead lies a big task – the raising of the funds required – some £1.9 million. Club members will have to raise a substantial part but with pledges already in place and with the RFU, who regard Ilkley as a “beacon” club, solidly behind the project the club is confident of reaching this formidable target.

For details of how you as an individual or as a company can help please contact us via webmaster@ilkleyrugby.co.uk

Press release June 2007

The new Clubhouse aims to open an exciting new chapter in Ilkley RFC’s 100 year history.

In the 1920s, with future generations in mind, Ilkley Rugby Club took the decision to construct the existing Grandstand (1924), followed by the Clubhouse (1937), made possible through generous donations from club members and the local community.   These facilities have reached the end of their lives and are now in need of redevelopment. 

Capturing the spirit of previous developments, the Club Committee is announcing its wish to construct a new purpose-built Community Clubhouse, incorporating the best modern facilities required for a rugby club in the 21^st Century.

The intention is to demolish the existing Grandstand and Clubhouse and build a single contemporary two-storey building.   The design approach, developed by Snell Associates Architects, aims to create a building that is "of-its-time".  It draws on references from the history of the Club and its Wharfedale context.

The Architect Robin Snell says “The building aims to raise the bar for this type of community sports facility. Its form seeks to convey the dynamic qualities of the sport and its design is inspired by the traditional Dales longbarn, found throughout Wharfedale ………. clad in timber, which will weather to a silvery-grey colour, giving it a familiar and a natural rural quality.”

The new Clubhouse aims to be an exciting and dynamic architecture which will capture the energy and spirit of the Club’s sporting history.   It will include the following facilities:

•  A sheltered terrace on the ground floor and a covered balcony with spectator seating at first floor level to provide excellent viewing facilities

•  A multi-purpose function room with bar and catering facilities

•  6 modern changing rooms designed to RFU and Sport England standards

•  A mini Gym

•  A Physio Room and other ancillary facilities

all designed as a fully accessible building.

With the vision firmly set to the future, the new Clubhouse also aims to incorporate the latest in environmentally sustainable design.  It seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and energy consumption in its construction and lifetime usage. It will incorporate sustainable-sourced timber as the primary construction material, reuse rainwater collected from the roof for sanitary water supply, utilise local energy generation and incorporate ground source heat pumps to supplement its heating requirements. 

Club Chairman, Richard Scargill says of the project “ Ilkley Rugby Club has come a long way in the last 15 years. We struggle each year to make the existing facilities fit for purpose, but it is a losing battle. The club has, by astute management and sticking firmly to the principles of amateur rugby, elevated itself to “beacon club” status. The infrastructure is strong, but it is our facilities which now desperately need improving. Other clubs in our region are improving theirs and I am anxious we don’t fall behind. With a strong and dedicated committee in place I am convinced the club can rise to challenge of getting the funding in place and hope that the project can be completed at an early date. Once planning formalities have been completed, fund raising can begin in earnest. This will be the greatest challenge, but I am sure the goodwill for the club in the town and the Wharfe Valley will carry us through that major hurdle and the current membership will be proud to hand on a facility which will grace Stacks Field for generations to come, and that Rugby Union will continue to provide sporting and social opportunities to the young people of the area. ”