St Newlyn East AFC Opening of changing rooms

St Newlyn East AFC Receive Funding to Secure Football for the Future

After receiving successful funding applications, St Newlyn East AFC refurbish changing rooms and fencing.

After receiving funding from The FA, in combination with other funding opportunities, St Newlyn East AFC have been able to refurbish their changing rooms and ball stopping fencing to help sustain long term footballing opportunities at the club. Cornwall FA Chairman Geoff Lee and Board Member Steven Lawrence had the pleasure of attending the opening of the new changing rooms, with club chairman Ivor Rogers (pictured above). Jon Grigg (St Newlyn East Secretary) has given an insight into the journey they club has taken to refurbish their facilities. 

“After being a successful “Junior” status club for decades, St Newlyn East AFC had eyed for many years the prospect of progression to a more “Senior” level of the grassroots game. However, their changing rooms were simply not up to the required standard. Dating back over 60 years there was dangerous wiring, holes in the walls, leaking showers (which were shared between both teams), poor lighting, unsafe fittings and an overall dilapidated look throughout.

When looking into funding with the help and advice of Daniel Greenough of Cornwall FA, the club realised that they were in a Catch-22 situation. To build FA and Football Foundation standard approved facilities would take a huge amount of grant monies – but the club could not apply to these funding streams as they only have one adult side. To access wider streams would require extra teams and wider inclusion which was not possible with the existing facilities.

Daniel was able to source a grant opportunity that seemed to provide an outlet, namely The FA National Sports Centre Trust Self Help Scheme, which allowed a smaller funding opportunity where the works would be smaller-scale and used club-linked and club-member skills to complete the works. A rough estimate of £10,000 was produced to cover all costs and the club applied for 3 grants – The FA grant in the sum of £5000 as well as matched-funding grants from their Parish Council and the Norman Family Charitable Trust.

Winning all 3 grants allowed the club to proceed!

The club was then able to draw upon local businesses to help source materials and labour in order to get the project over the line. RC Construction, owned by former St Newlyn AFC Player “Renus” Taylor, were the main contractors with club chairman (Shaun Pritchard) and his father installing the electrical components. Additionally, current player Ross Emery helped source materials through Bradford’s Builders to help complete the fencing. It is also noted that team manager Grigg who almost single-handedly decorated after the work was completed, Thompson who refitted some of the internals, ex-player from the 60s Mike Beckerleg who constructed bench seating and PJ Print for the external signage all deserve credit for their contributions to this project.

By being realistic in their expectations, using sound economic planning and making maximum use of the local club connections and the targeted planning of their funding, St Newlyn East were able to complete their refurbishment project both financially and in its duration. They are now able to provide the requisite facilities for the level of football they now compete in. They will also now be able to look at increasing their inclusivity, targeting youth football (with the anticipated assistance of the Parish Council and County FA once more) as well as the ladies’ game which, it is hoped, will see them in a position to ultimately seek the larger funding required for a more dedicated pitch side facility built to full FA/Football Foundation-requirements.

In conjunction with the refurbishment of the changing rooms, the pitch-side fencing was replaced after successful funding from the Cornwall FA Small Clubs Grants Scheme was attained (£500). This project was a great step forwards for the club as previous issues with vandals had caused the pitch-side fencing to become unsafe. Due to the nature of replacing all of the fencing, the club had to reach out to other organisations and individuals for donations. The club were fortunate to receive a very generous individual donation to help complete the new fencing (again with the construction process being supported by MJ Grigg).

This work, impossible without the help of the Cornwall FA’s Small Clubs grant assistance and the guidance of Daniel Greenough and the team, means that the Club can now plan its future improvements – refurbishing the current stand, extending covered spectator areas, building new compliant dugouts, a refreshment hut, power supply and their next application to the Football Foundation for grant-support to the purchase of new pitch maintenance equipment”.

Daniel Greenough (Cornwall FA Senior Football Development Officer) helped assist the club’s application bid to The FA and now the Football Foundation and expressed his delight at the club’s refurbishment, “St Newlyn East have proved that a focused, partnership approach project is the best way of working, resulting in maximum impact of the funding they have received.  The club have taken on board guidance and involved lots of different organisation and people to develop and finish a brilliant project which will allow them to continue to operate and develop as a club.”


If your club is interested in identifying potential funding opportunities, please visit the Funding, Grants and Facilities page or contact Daniel.greenough@cornwallfa.com

 

St Newlyn East Before RefurbishmentsSt Newlyn East Refurbishments