Chairman of Rugby Les Smith [left] today signed the official contracts on behalf of the club. They have been negotiated and drawn up by Quantity Surveyor Mark Teigh [centre] of Yarm based Teigh & Co., and were also signed by Kingfield's Managing Director Mike Dickinson [right].
The clubhouse will feature six dressing rooms, a community/function room capable of staging dinners, parties, seminars,and exhibitions for up to 200 people as well as providing space for a wide range of activities such as keep fit classes. There will also be a large fitness room to replace the existing portacabin gym.
It will cost £900,000 and has been been made possible by a grant of more than half a million from landfill tax generated by Hartlepool company Niramax - administered by the Mondegreen Environment Body Ltd. The RFU and SportEngland are also providing grants towards the dressing room block which will be built to full RFU standards at a cost of £60,000 per dressing room.
It has been designed by Harrogate based architects Smith Smalley and will be built on the present car park immediately behind the posts. It is due for completion on Friday February 13th 2015 - although we may change that date!
The impression above shows the community/function room which has opening bi-fold doors onto what will be a patio area. The dressing room block can be seen on the left beyond the main entrance.
This is all happening because of the generous support of Niramax who can recommend where the tax which their local activities generate is spent.
It has taken some time to come to fruition because of the need to raise the remainder of the money, and the various hoops the club has had to go through to achieve the other grants as well as raise its own money.
In that time the cost of building materials has increased dramatically, and so the club will be built in two phases. The second phase will provide a separate club bar (don't worry there is one in the main room) and could well be built using the professional skills of club members, with a materials cost of in the region of £40,000.
In the meantime there is a need for the existing fund raising to be stepped up. The club still needs to provide the kitchen equipment as well as the bar and furniture in the community room.
Now that work has started its hoped all section of the club will be enthused to rally round.
The Minis and Juniors have already raised five figures towards the cost of the kitchen and the senior section has been given the task of providing the bar and furniture.
The more we raise the better our club will be.