Ilkley relief as they are given £5,000 grant to repair flood-damaged pitches

Ilkley Rugby Club is one such example, the West Yorkshire outfit seeing their pitches badly damaged as a result of Storm Ciara and then Dennis, too.

Subsequently seeing their season ended early due to Covid-19, it is no surprise they are now delighted to be awarded £5,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Asset Fund for emergency works following that flood damage.

Ilkley’s groundsmen Richard Mulligan and Bobby Simms said: “We’ve always been prone to flooding when the River Wharfe decides to wreak its anger after periods of heavy rain.

“But this time we had water over both pitches four times in three weeks. Every time the flood retreats it takes with it loads of our valuable sand and pretty well all the nutrients applied to assist growing. It had already been a very bad winter and a lot of, particularly junior rugby, has been lost to waterlogged pitches.

“The latest series of floods was the last straw. When the river floods we always respond by applying 60 tonnes or more of very expensive specialist sand to each pitch. We had one load of sand ready for application before the first flood – but that pretty much all disappeared into the river!”

Former Twickenham head groundsman Keith Kent visited Stacks Fields to make a report for the RFU. The club can now purchase large quantities of speciality sand, nutrients seed and other growing seed as well as employ a sports turf specialist contractor to apply them to their playing surfaces.

Ilkley chairman Mike Halling added: “The funding will allow us to repair and restore our most valuable asset - our pitches.

“We all look forward to re-opening the club as soon as coronavirus has been defeated so the community can once more benefit from these fantastic facilities.”

Sport England’s chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said: “When flooding happens, the priority must be making sure people are safe, they can get back into their homes and vital public services are back up and running. But we know from the floods in 2013 and 2015 that flood water can cause significant damage to sports pitches and pavilions, changing and social facilities.

“We’re making emergency funding available now so when the time is right sports organisations can pay for rebuilds and repairs quickly. We’re delighted to be able to get this emergency funding to Ilkley Rugby Club.”

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor